VERGENNES — Vergennes police with help from Vermont State Police on Sunday, May 14, arrested a South Water Street resident and cited him for five charges, two of them felonies, related to an alleged assault on his domestic partner during the course of Saturday and Sunday night. The incident included allegedly threatening her with a firearm. 

Police cited Anthony Smith Sr., 47, for first degree aggravated domestic assault, a felony; being a person prohibited from possessing a firearm, a felony; reckless endangerment, a charge they said stemmed from Smith allegedly threatening the victim with a firearm; interfering with a person’s ability to call emergency services; and unlawful restraint.

Police allege Smith prevented the victim from leaving an apartment or calling for help, at one point grabbing her neck and at another holding her down on a sofa. They said she was able to leave the apartment early on Sunday morning and borrow a phone to call 911 at 5:47 a.m. 

Police then called in VSP to help with the arrest, and troopers joined two city officers to take Smith into custody. Police said they also found a pellet rifle in his possession. He was lodged at a Vermont correctional facility for lack of $15,000 bail, according to police. 

In another recent case, city police said they have not yet made an arrest in the May 7 case of a man in a vehicle chasing a car driven by his mother and stepfather on Main Street, and then jumping on their car and kicking in its windshield when it stopped. Vergennes police have not yet cited the man, apparently, they said, because the suspect is not cooperating. 

Police in that case have prepared charges of unlawful mischief, a felony count because of the amount of damage done to his parents’ vehicle; domestic assault; grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle; disorderly conduct; and reckless endangerment. The Independent will update the case when more information is available.

Also between May 8 and 14, Vergennes police fingerprinted one job applicant, conducted 20 cruiser patrols and six traffic stops, responded to a false alarm, and also:

On May 8:

• Helped VSP by responding to a two-vehicle accident on Route 7 in North Ferrisburgh.

• Told an out-of-town resident how to report an identity-theft case on the FBI website.

On May 9: 

• Calmed a distraught woman who came to the station and was worried because her partner had not returned home promptly; police also contacted him via text and determined all was well.

• Helped VSP at the station by evaluating whether an impaired driving suspect was under the influence of drugs.

• Dealt with a minor two-car accident in the Maplefields parking lot off South Water Street.

On May 10 dealt with two cases related to the Valley Vista rehabilitation facility at 1 Alden Place. In the first one they helped calm a client being discharged from the program and gave her a ride to the city green to meet a party who would pick her up. In the second they heard from the mother of a 43-year-old client who had left Valley Vista and was concerned about her daughter, who had left for New York City. 

On May 11 responded to a Waltham domestic dispute on behalf of VSP, calming the scene before troopers arrived; city police said state police took a woman involved to a detox facility.

On May 11 and 12 responded to two-vehicle accidents on Main Street, directing traffic briefly in both cases.

On May 13 searched unsuccessfully for an erratic driver reported on Monkton Road. 

On May 14 while dealing with the Smith arrest asked VSP to handle a citizen dispute in a Main Street apartment building parking lot on their behalf.