VERGENNES — Vergennes police on Feb. 8 cited a Shoreham resident for driving under the influence of alcohol, or DUI, after receiving a parking complaint from the Champlain Farms convenience store on Main Street.

Police said drivers complained to store employees about a car parked behind the store near its Dumpsters, partially blocking access to the business from Monkton Road, and that the store reported the driver was not cooperative. 

Police responded to the parking issue and sad they found Michele Piper, 49, of Shoreham was behind the wheel and under the influence of alcohol. They cited her for DUI. 

In other action between Feb. 5 and 11, Vergennes police conducted 13 cruiser patrols and 20 traffic stops, honored five pre-employment fingerprint requests, and also:

On Feb. 5:

• Spoke to a resident who said mail that had been dropped off in a mailbox, including checks, had been found opened on another city home’s lawn. Police advised the resident to contact both the post office and the bank on which the checks were written. 

• Picked up three syringes that had been found on the property of a Panton Road business.

• Helped Vermont State Police by looking for a hit-and-run victim along Route 7 east of the city, but were unsuccessful. 

• Heard from the landlord of 45 Armory Lane about alleged suspicious behavior in one of the building’s apartments. 

• Accepted a purse found at Shaw’s Supermarket and successfully returned it to its owner.

On Feb. 6 backed up state police while they dealt with three people in a southbound car who had loitered first at Dakin Farms and then at the Ferrisburgh Jiffy Mart and acted suspiciously and panhandled for gas money. 

On Feb. 7 took a report that a vehicle had backed into the gas pumps at Champlain Farms.

On Feb. 8 responded to Mountain View Lane after a trash truck struck a utility pole and downed power lines.

On Feb. 9: 

• Documented another a series of calls from a troubled resident of a Hillside Drive apartment who is refusing treatment for mental health issues.

• Calmed a woman who was loitering at Champlain Farms and upsetting employees; police learned she wanted to go to Burlington and took her to the Ferrisburgh park-and-ride lot to catch a bus.

• Accepted a credit card found at the Ferrisburgh Jiffy Mart and contacted the owner, who asked police to cut it up.

• Were notified by Champlain Farms the store had obtained a no-trespass order on a local resident. 

On Feb. 11 ran a sobriety checkpoint on Main Street along with state police, Bristol police and the Addison County Sheriff’s Department. Police said they stopped 510 vehicles and screened one driver, who was determined to be sober.