MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury police launched an untimely death investigation at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel on Jan. 4. Police said hotel staff found Robert Ihinger, 47, deceased in his hotel room.
Police said their initial investigation suggests Ihinger died from a drug overdose. Ihinger, who was homeless, had been staying at the hotel since mid-October, authorities said.
Middlebury police are waiting for autopsy and toxicology reports from the state lab before closing their investigation.
In other action last week, Middlebury police:
•  Responded on Jan. 4 to a report of a suicidal man who’d been staying at a Route 7 South hotel. Police took the man to Porter Hospital to receive a mental health evaluation.
•  Served a no-trespass order on Jan. 5 on a guest who was no longer wanted at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel.
•  Were informed on Jan. 5 of a possible assault that had occurred in the Case Street area. The matter remains under investigation.
•  Cited Katy F. Huling, 35, of Ferrisburgh for driving under the influence (third offense) after witnesses alleged she’d left a Route 7 North business while intoxicated on Jan. 5.
•  Served a temporary restraining order on a man who was staying at a local motel on Route 7 South on Jan. 6.
•  Investigated a report of a vehicle leaving the scene of an accident in the Jayne Court area on Jan. 8.
•  Investigated a one-vehicle crash on Painter Road involving a Middlebury police vehicle that had been en route to New Haven on Jan. 8 to help Vermont State Police with a “serious accident.”
•  Served a no-trespass notice on a person who was “causing a disruption” at Kinney Drugs on Court Street on Jan. 8.
•  Received into evidence narcotics and drug paraphernalia that staff from a local hotel had found in a guest room on Jan. 8.
• On Jan. 9 at around a quarter past 7 p.m. looked into a call from a South Street resident who reported that a car drove up and down the road and then went into a field. The caller provided a description of the car. While a Middlebury police officer was going to look for the suspicious vehicle a car fitting the description went past the officer on South Street. The officer turned around and approached the vehicle when it stopped at Green Mountain Place. Police report that the two occupants had smoked marijuana and were screened for impairment, but passed the screening. The officer issued Court Diversion paperwork to the driver and passenger for under age possession of marijuana.
The Independent queried Middlebury police because a reader wondered why apparent police activity they saw was not reported in the police log. The Middlebury police originally had provided the newspaper with log paperwork that classified the incident as simply “suspicious vehicle,” but Chief Tom Hanley looked into the incident and said the log given to the newspaper was incorrectly logged by the officer and should have been coded as a drug case. He provided additional information on the incident and recoded the entry properly in case it comes up again.
Court Diversion is a program in which a suspect is allowed to perform some task or service or take a class and when successfully completed the initial mark is removed from their records. If they don’t complete the class or service, the case proceeds through the court system. Diversion is optional and is often offered to the suspect in low-level drug cases.
• Investigated the alleged violation of a court-ordered curfew in the Main Street area on Jan. 10.
•  Responded to a complaint of gunshots in the Halladay Road area on Jan. 10. Police said they found a person shooting on nearby land and there weren’t signs of danger for people in the area.
•  Responded to the North Pleasant Street area on Jan. 10 on a report of a person attempting self-harm.
•  Helped Vergennes police in the aftermath of a shooting in the Little City on Jan. 10.
•  Assisted Middlebury firefighters at the scene of chicken coop fire off Case Street on Jan. 10.
Editor’s note: This story was update after it was originally posted online because additional information came to light regarding the Jan. 9 incident.