Chester Police log for Aug. 25 to Oct. 5, 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.

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 4 p.m.

In an ongoing issue, police responded to a home on Popple Dungeon Road for the report of an HCRS patient out of control and assaulting staff. Upon arrival, police found the woman sitting outside. Staff said she had started throwing muddy water in their faces, then became violent when told to stop. According to staff, she began hitting them with a chair, which police found on the ground outside. She then pulled screens out of windows and climbed into the residence. The situation calmed and the woman agreed to take her medicine. A crisis worker also was on her way to the residence. Police provided first aid for a superficial cut the woman had on her hand.

Saturday, Aug. 29, at 3:47 p.m.

Police went to Motel in the Meadow for a report of a stray dog hanging around a party of people. The small black dog had Rockingham Vet Clinic tags. As the officer was putting the dog into his car, a woman showed up and said the dog was hers and it had run off from Reservoir Road. The dog was returned to the owner.

Monday, Aug. 31 at 10:27 a.m.

A complainant reported that she was walking her dog on Depot Street near First Avenue when a dog came onto the sidewalk barking, growling and showing teeth. The owner has a long history of not following the village dog ordinance. Police went to the residence and saw that the dog lead was on a tree next to the sidewalk. The owner did not come to the door, so the officer called the owner and told him he needed to come to Town Hall and license the dog this day or police would impound the dog. The owner arrived two hours later and was issues two tickets, one for no license and one for a dog running at large.

Monday, Aug. 31, 1 p.m.

A Chester Police officer, leaving the Police Department, noticed a gray Saab turning from Elm Street north onto Depot Street. The car was driven by a woman who had a cellphone in her hand. Her fingers were moving like she was texting. Police followed the Saab and noticed that it was drifting over the center line, then moved right. At one point the officer thought the car was going to go off the road and into the field, so the officer hit his horn to alert the driver, which it did. The officer then stopped the vehicle. The driver said she knew why she was being pulled over and added that her license has also been suspended twice. Since she had an infant in the car, police cited her roadside for driving with a suspended license.

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2:39 p.m.

A woman reported that her identity had been stolen and used to start a Sprint account, which was then accessed to order five I-Phone 6s that were shipped to the Holiday Inn in Rutland. The clerk at the hotel said he would alert the Rutland Police if someone asks for the package. The phones will be returned to Sprint. The cost of the fraud was about $3,500.

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 3:14 p.m.

Police went to the parking lot of Chester-Andover Elementary School for the report of an accident in which a vehicle ran into the back of a bus as they waited in line to leave. School employees who had removed the children from the bus said that everyone was OK. Police concluded that the driver of the automobile had been too close to the bus. Damage to the car’s front right fender, inner fender, grill and bumper is estimated at $3,000. Damage to the bus is about $500 in cosmetic paint damage.

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 9:17 p.m.

Chester Police aided Winhall Police who were following a stolen van from New York east on Route 11 West. Chester Police and Vermont State Police pulled over the van on Route 11 near Hill Top Road in Andover. VSP found that the van had indeed been stolen, but that it had been returned and never taken out of the stolen vehicle database.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 7:32 a.m.

Police responded to a report of a dog running along Grafton Street. They discovered that the dog belonged to an employee of a nearby farm who brought the dog to work with him but before the employee could secure the dog, it jumped out of the vehicle and headed out.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 9:43 a.m.

Police were called to a residence, where the occupant told them that he had sold a vehicle months ago and allowed the buyer to continue to use the license plates. He said he just found out the vehicle was in a crash but the new owner continued to use the plates in Springfield. Springfield Police told the former owner to contact Chester Police. Chester Police said they would look out for the plate number, but also advised the man that he could be ticketed for allowing the use of those plates. The occupant said he did not know and would not do it again.

Thursday, Sept 10, 11:55 a.m.

Police looked into a complaint of littering along Lover’s Lane. Town crews had located the trash and cleaned it up. Crews said it was typical car trash – cans, chip bags etc. Searching the trash, they found a gas receipt with the name of the purchaser. Once contact was made, the man stated that he sometimes visits a friend on Lovers Lane and stops in the pulloff to empty trash from his vehicle and into the receptacle  by “shooting” the trash into the can. He said the can isn’t emptied often and he should have cleaned it up instead of leaving it there. He was apologetic and the officer said he would be mailing the man a written warning for littering.

Saturday, Sept. 12, 3 p.m.

A police officer at St. Joseph’s Church on Main Street in Chester was checking speed rates using radar. He saw a black 2015 car bearing Connecticut plates traveling 15 mph above the limit. Police stopped the car along Maple Street and found that the driver had an active warrant in Vermont for marijuana possession and $1,000 bail. The driver consented to a search, which turned up nothing. The man was taken into custody.

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 11:25 a.m.

A resident of VT Route 103 came into the Chester Police Department to report the theft sometime the night before of  “dollar store” Halloween decorations including a scarecrow, apples, etc. – but no pumpkins – at the end of the property near the roadway. The resident “guess-timated” the value at $10.

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 11:40 a.m.

A tractor-trailer heading north on Depot Street caught low hanging phone lines as it approached Maple Street. The lines stretched as the truck continued to move, taking down state street signs. It also damaged the edge of a slate roof and took down a metal chimney on a residence.

Monday, Oct. 5, 1 a.m.

A 21-year-old man was arrested on charges of negligent operation of a vehicle and eluding a police officer after the officer, driving north on Mattson Road, spotted the vehicle in front of him driving too closely to the one in front of it. As the Jeep Cherokee turned south onto Route 10, the officer noted that the license plate light wasn’t working, which is a violation. The Jeep then turned on Chandler Road and police activated its lights.

As the cars pulled over, the Jeep sped off, spinning its tires and throwing gravel. The officer activated his emergency siren and called dispatch to advise that the vehicle was fleeing. The Jeep was being driven at a high rate of speed, at one point rounding a corner in the opposite lane, fishtailing and almost crashing. The vehicles should have reached a sharp left-hand bend in the road, but the Jeep drove straight onto impassable logging roads. The officer then called for assistance.

Soon, another officer radioed that he had stopped the Jeep. The driver was handcuffed and waived his Miranda rights. He then said he knew his license was suspended and there was nothing legal about his Jeep. The man was arrested and taken to Springfield Police Department for processing.

Monday, Oct. 5, 1:37 p.m.

A vehicle at the Commons was attempting to turn around to leave the parking area when it struck a parked vehicle.

Monday Oct. 5, 8:53 p.m.

Police responded to a call on Marc’s Drive for a report of a loose dog. The dog – a brown and white terrier-pit bull mix — was on the caller’s back porch. The dog showed no signs of aggression and the caller said he did not know where the dog belonged. Police took the dog to the Springfield Humane Society where it was left with food and water.