Chester Police Log March 20 to June 13, 2015

Editor’s Note: The Chester Telegraph Police Log is a sampling of incidents directly from Chester Police reports. We do not identify individual victims of crimes nor those who have been arrested.

NOTE: Chester Police are asking that anyone with information regarding a recent series of burglaries in the Smokeshire area of Ludlow and Chester to contact police at 875-2035. Police Chief Rick Cloud says that five or so camps have been broken into and brush hogs, riding lawn mowers, copper piping and “anything and everything that isn’t hooked down” has been taken.

Friday, March 20, 11:35 a.m.

Chester Police responded to the report of a fight at Green Mountain Union High School between two family members during which one sustained a broken clavicle. One student said he was walking to lunch when his relative grabbed his hat and called him a slang term for female genitalia. The student said he ran up to the relative, tapped him in the face enough to distract him to try to get his hat back. The student also said that the relative then grabbed him, dragged him, picked him up and threw him to the floor, before another student ran over to push the assailant away. The first boy then went to lunch with his arm hurting, then went to the nurse. His mother picked him up and took him to the ER. The officer spoke to the father who was not cooperative and refused to bring in his son and the mother did not answer multiple messages.  After much investigation, it was found impossible to bring charges to one boy without also charging the other.

Sunday, April 12, 8:42 p.m.

While responding to another complaint, an officer saw a vehicle parked at the Chester Sunoco in which the passenger looked like someone involved in the first complaint. The officer circled around the Sunoco, the vehicle left quickly but was caught up to on Main Street. When the vehicle pulled into a driveway on Lovers Lane, the officer activated the emergency lights with the knowledge that the car did not belong in that driveway. The driver stated that they were from Newport, Vt., and were looking for a friend’s house. Police discovered that the passenger had a drug involvement and the driver lied about the woman they were supposedly visiting, who also had a drug involvement. While the officer did not have enough to hold them, he told the two that they would be watched for their suspicious behavior. While they denied any drug involvement, the officer said that it was odd to make a two-hour trip to Chester to visit a friend when they did not know where she lived.

Saturday, May 2, 1:41 p.m.

A summer home owner went to the Chester Police Department to complain that upon arriving home, she noticed the back door open and two cars in the driveway. She said that her only tenant had been jailed on a furlough violation and was no longer living at the house. The officer followed the woman back to her home and both entered. After announcing the presence of law enforcement, they followed the sound of a TV in another room. There, a woman was sleeping on the couch. A glass pipe with black residue lay in front of her. This type of pipe is often used to smoke illegal substances such as methamphetamine and/or “bath salts.” A small butane torch was next to the pipe, another item necessary to smoke such substances.

After calling loudly in attempt to wake the woman, the officer shook her leg with his flashlight until she woke in an extremely groggy state. The woman identified herself and named another woman who gave her permission to stay there. She said that the woman had gotten the house from the state and that she had been staying there for “a few days, not even a week.” The officer went to speak with the complainant outside while the woman tried to contact the other woman via cell phone.

Upon returning inside, the officer noticed that the pipe had disappeared but the torch remained. The woman who had given permission for the first woman to stay arrived with a man who was also staying there. She stated that complainant’s original tenant had given her permission to stay at the residence until May. The original tenant, now in Southern State Correctional Facility, stated that he had given permission to clean the residence, not to stay and live  in it. The man who had arrived with the woman is known to be involved in the distribution and consumption of “bath salts.”

The residence was secured by law enforcement and the woman was asked if she would consent to a search, but she wanted to confer with the man and the first woman first. A search warrant was then applied for. Meanwhile, another police officer said that the man had offered the homeowner $1,000 to make it all go away. Search warrant in hand, officers and three Vermont State Police troopers began their search at 5:07 p.m. Two firearms were found, one of which was stolen. The pipe from above was found next to one of the guns. Also found was a small stamped wax baggy with an off white powder with the sleeping woman’s identification also in it.

Five days later, when speaking with the sleeping woman about the paraphernalia, she stated that it was there when they moved in. When asked about the guns and the suspected heroin, she denied knowing about their existence. When asked how long the other woman had been living there, she stated 20 days, having received a voucher from the Cancer Society to stay there. The man also stated that the paraphernalia was there when they arrived. He also acknowledged the existence of the gun but said, “I don’t know anything about that.” However, later on in the conversation he contradicted that statement. The sleeping woman was cited to appear in court and the other illegal residents had their belongings returned to them.

Friday, May 22, 10:12 p.m.

A Chester officer went to Benny’s Auto because someone had called a towing company in New Hampshire to have a car towed from Benny’s  “on the down low.” Police contacted the tow truck driver who received the request, but he was reluctant to believe that he was talking to the police. He did give the name and phone number of the person who called for the tow. Police called the number, asked for the person, mentioned the tow truck and got the response, “Oh yeah! One second.” Arrangements were made for the person to come to Benny’s Towing with the keys. After a short wait, a New Hampshire Jeep, containing four people, pulled into the lot. The driver was friends with the tow truck owner and the vehicle itself belonged to one of the passengers. Benny’s had notified her that if she did not come get the vehicle soon, its ownership would pass onto Benny’s. With no outstanding balance on the vehicle it was unclear why they needed it taken “on the down low,” which was also a misuse of an urban term. One of the other passengers had an active arrest warrant for burglary and was taken into custody.

Wednesday, May 27, 7:46 p.m.

Chester Police responded to County Road and Cemetery Road in Springfield to help contain an area after a recent robbery. A man who worked across from the robbery location had seen a silver Honda Civic driving slowly up and down the road shortly before the incident.

Friday, May 29, 7:13 p.m.

A caller complained that due to the sun and glare, it appeared as if her car doors were open and someone was going through it. While en route, the Chester officer was notified that the complainant had possible mental health issues. The vehicle was discovered to have all doors shut and nothing looking out of place. The complainant said that at one point it looked like the car was moving, but that she must have been dreaming.

Saturday, May 30, 12:15 a.m.

Chester Police were called by Springfield Police to help wrangle an escaped cow on Baltimore Road.

Saturday, May 30, 10:32 a.m.

Complainant called to say that numerous people had informed them that a man was offering  $5,000 for someone to inflict damage to the complainant’s vehicle and wanted this documented.

Saturday, May 30 1:06 p.m.

A Chester officer assisted the Springfield Police Department with a domestic incident that was occurring in the police parking lot. The Springfield officers referred to it as a “rolling domestic.” A man resisted the efforts of the police to keep him out of the station, where the presumed victims were, and was forcibly handcuffed. After sustaining a cut lip from his own tooth, his wife convinced him to go the Springfield Hospital as he was suffering from mental health and/or neurological issues.

Saturday, May 30,  7:44 p.m.

Chester Police received reports of horses in the road at Routes 103 North and 10. But before police could reach the scene, dispatch contacted the owners to retrieve them.

Monday, June 1, 1:25 p.m.

The complainant reported another theft at his maple syrup business. According to police, three vehicles pulling into the area, the occupants of one got out and went over to another while the occupant of the third  went into the building. The female suspect put $10 in the money box but left with a $17 item. The vehicles are a white Chevy four-door truck, a white Dodge truck with two flags in the back and a dark colored Dodge Durango.

Wednesday, June 3, 4:16 p.m.

The caller to police said his girlfriend was freaking out and refused to get out of his truck, which  was parked behind the Sunoco. Upon arrival the girlfriend, sitting in the passenger seat, told police that everything was fine, there was no issue. She also denied having been asked to leave the vehicle. The boyfriend, who was in the store, said that the girlfriend had been freaking out on him for the last couple of weeks for no reason and that he called her mother and grandmother to come get her, but they hadn’t answered his calls. The clerks saw her yelling and screaming with her arms flailing around inside the truck. The officer then told the girlfriend that she had to leave the truck and that the boyfriend did not want to talk with her. She refused to be given a ride, gathered her belongings and left. She then proceeded to go into the store and yell but left when the store clerk told her to. The complainant got in his truck and left.

Thursday, June 4, 5:10 p.m.

A driver on Elm Street had stopped at the stop sign at Pleasant Street, then proceeded to pull out and turn left. As she pulled forward, she realized that a car was on the bridge coming toward her. She attempted to stop, but struck the passenger side door of the car, causing the car to spin and the driver’s side rear struck the guardrail. The driver of the Elm Street car said she had looked left but failed to see an oncoming car, then she sighted her small stature as the reason. Damage to both vehicles was about $2,800. The cause of the accident was determined to be the young woman’s failure to yield to oncoming traffic.

Saturday, June 6, 12:20 a.m.

A Chester officer on patrol spotted a Jeep being driven erratically onto VT Route 11 East from River Street. Police followed as the Jeep made the turn onto Green Mountain Turnpike, driving in the 40s in a 30mph zone. It then went up Flamstead Road. Police saw something hanging from under the vehicle. After pulling the Jeep over, the officer identified the driver and his wife and their adult daughter, all Chester residents. The driver, whose license is criminally suspended, said that he needed to get his wife home. The car has a broken frame, is uninspected and lacking insurance, and the wife refused to drive the vehicle. The officer then had the vehicle towed and cited the driver for the criminal license suspension again. The three refused a ride from the officer and walked home.

Sunday, June 7, 4:07 p.m.

Chester Police spoke with a resident of the Lovers Lane area about two suspicious people who came to her home asking odd questions. The resident said the pair — a white man and a woman in their 50s who looked like “tweakers,”  which are meth-heads — asked if the residence was a farm and if they had farm animals. Police noted that the residence and land look nothing like a farm. The resident added that the woman did all the talking and the man stood back with his hands in his jacket.  She described the man as gaunt, having graying hair and a mustache, and the woman as heavier set with a round face.  They left in a dark colored Honda. The responding officer did not locate the suspect vehicle, but did say that extra patrols would be made in the area.

Thursday, June 11, 7:50 a.m.

Police responded to a report of a two-car crash on Route 103 South. One car was found to have a damaged left, front fender. The driver said that she was traveling south when the vehicle in front of her turned left and she hit it. But she added that while the accident looks like it was her fault, it really wasn’t. The other vehicle had passenger side damage to the door areas. That driver said she had put on her directional signal to pull into the Heritage Deli when she was hit. It was concluded that the first vehicle did not yield to the vehicle she hit, which was turning into the parking lot, and that the first vehicle had pulled into the breakdown lane to go around the turning vehicle.

Thursday, June 11, 12:30 p.m.

Chester Police were called to the parking lot of Jiffy Mart for a motor vehicle crash. The officer found two vehicles quite close to each other in two parking spots. A woman stated that she was sitting in her parked car when a van pulled in trying to park between her and another vehicle. The van couldn’t fit and hit her driver’s side rear. The operator said that the van driver then backed up and tried to fit again, hitting her car again. The van driver said that he was trying to park. But due to the confusion of his speech, the officer became concerned about his mental state and contacted an ambulance for him despite his denial of needing one. The man knew neither the day of the week, his phone number, nor where he lived. After finding out this wasn’t the first time in the last fortnight for the man to be found driving confused, the officer got in touch with family members as well as Senior Solutions.

Saturday, June 13, 9:24 p.m.

A Chester officer responded to Union Street in Springfield for a report that a female resident being assaulted. Only one Springfield officer was able to answer the call and Chester police were called to assist. Upon arrival, the Springfield officer said that the female had already left the scene and that it was possibly only a verbal abuse.