Chester Police log for May: April 9 to May 3, 2016

© 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC

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

Saturday, April 9, 10:28 a.m.

A resident of Popple Dungeon Road called to complain that her ex-husband was threatening not to bring their daughter on Sunday during their court-ordered dropoff. Police said that it wasn’t an issue on Saturday, but could be a violation on Sunday and to call police then.

Saturday, April 9, 3:44 p.m.

Police noticed a lot of smoke around Amsden Hill Road, then saw someone trying to put out burning grass. The resident said he had a burn permit, but that the wind picked up, catching the grass on fire. The Fire Department was sent for, but the fires were contained and mostly extinguished by the time of they arrived.

Monday, April 11, 1:43 p.m.

Several calls came in about gunshots – possibly 10 to 15 – near High Street and Grafton Road. The officer checked the area, including nearby roads and many driveways to no avail. No gunshots were heard while the officer was in the area.

Monday, April 11, 6:19 p.m.

A resident came into the office to report the theft of a red Honda 5000 generator stolen from property that he sugars on Crow Hill Road. The generator has a green sticker on top and a longer hose connected to the gas tank. The owner of the Crow Hill Road property had alerted him to the possible theft. The generator had been chained and padlocked to a gathering tank on the side of the road barely visible to traffic. The lock had been smashed. The approximate value of the generator is $1,200.

Monday, April 11, 9:03 p.m.

Police on routine patrol on Route 103 near Smokeshire pulled over a speeding Oldsmobile, then recognized the driver from previous professional encounters. There was a smell of marijuana in coming from the car and the officer asked the driver to surrender what she had left. It was 3.9 grams. The driver did not appear to be impaired and she stated she had consumed the drug more than hour before the stop. She was given Windsor County Diversion paperwork and advised to contact the program within 15 days. If she does not complete the program, she will be charged with a 1^st offense of marijuana possession.

Tuesday, April 12, 5:49 p.m.

A family complained that a daughter had been receiving harassing text messages from her daughter’s classmate’s stepmother including one calling her daughter a prostitute. The stepmother said that she had seen text messages between the stepson and the girl that referred to sex and that it sounded like what a prostitute would say. She agreed not to contact the girl or family again.

Thursday, April 14, 6:57 a.m.

A Chester officer on patrol along Main Street noticed that someone had spray painted the Dollar General construction sign in orange with the word “JUNK.” He checked all the construction equipment but found no issues.

Saturday, April 16, 12:26 p.m.

Police responded to Cummings Road for a report of vandalism but instead discovered both parties complaining about a property dispute and rights of way for a driveway. One party said he owned the driveway and would not let the other improve it without permission, while the other said he has a legal right of way. Police told both that this is a civil matter that needed to be resolved by working together, looking at tax maps and speaking with the town zoning administrator or going to civil court.

Sunday, April 17, 1:20 p.m.

A worker at the Abenaque Car Wash on Route 103 South told police that he had seen a man and a woman involved in an argument in the parking lot about an hour earlier. He said he went to lunch and upon returning, one vehicle remained. He spoke with another patron who had also witnessed the altercation and gave the worker a cellphone that the woman had thrown to the ground after getting into a car with the male she had been arguing with. The keys had been left on the seat and the car was unlocked. Police put the phone in the car and locked it. Upon looking in the windshield, the officer saw a spoon in the driver’s door compartment with what appeared to be a small piece of cotton it it. The officer then went about searching for the owner, and was eventually able to arrange to meet the woman back at her car. At that time, police asked for consent to search the car and its contents, to which she agreed. The officer found several torn glassine baggies, which are usually used to contain heroin. They were stamped “hot sauce.” In the woman’s purse were five used syringes and more torn glassine baggies as well as a small amount of marijuana in a mason jar. The officer issued a citation for marijuana possession.

Monday, April 18, 3:02 p.m.

While the Chester Recreation Area on Cobleigh Street was having new fencing installed, a worker mentioned that a strange male wearing a long black jacket keeps walking over and urinating on the field. The worker says that the male pulled his penis out in front of them at the backstop and urinated. The worker added that the man returns about every hour, walks around the field and has urinated in other locations on the field. It happened once the previous Friday and the man returned again today.

Police went looking for the male but couldn’t find anyone of the description. But upon returning to Cobleigh Field, the worker said that police had just missed him and that he had gone through his routine twice more.

Police located some workers at NewsBank and described the man to them. They said that it sounded like someone they knew, and one called him “weird.” The officer then went to NewsBank to speak with the man, who stated that he was very embarrassed by his actions. Police learned that the man is not a Chester resident nor does he have children in the area.

However, when the officer asked him if he realized that it was a girls softball field and children play there, he responded that he did. And when the officer asked him if he thought having his penis out at the field was OK, he said he did not know.

Police issued the man a trespass notice for Cobleigh Field and stated that if he returns there, he will be arrested. When the man asked how long the notice would last and when he could return, police responded for one year, at which time another notice would be issued.

The next morning, police found the man walking on the road near the field and when he saw police, he turned around. His actions appeared inconsistent with someone who is truly embarrassed or scared about dealing with the police.

Monday, April 18, 9:09 p.m.

A police officer traveling north on Route 103 spotted a vehicle with a non-illuminated license plate. The driver was identified as holding a state junior driver’s license and police noticed he was not wearing his seatbelt. The youth said he forgot to put it on after leaving a friend’s house. Police also noticed the smell of marijuana in the car. The youth surrendered 5.2 grams of pot in a ziplock bag. The youth admitted to having consumed the drug within an hour of the stop, so police called his mother to give him a ride. Police issued the mother Windsor County Diversion paperwork and told her to contact the program within 15 days. A possession of marijuana charge will be issued if the youth doesn’t complete the program.

Thursday, April 21, 12:43 p.m.

While at the Police Department in Town Hall, an officer went to the use the bathroom but found it filled with marijuana smoke. A recording led police to one of the flaggers working on the road in front of Town Hall. The man was removed from all Chester projects.

Friday, April 22, 6:06 p.m.

Police received a report of a campfire at an address on Route 11 East during a burn ban. Residents were told to put the fire out and they did.

Friday, April 22, 7:02 p.m.

Police received a complaint of dogs barking in the Mountain View neighborhood. But an officer didn’t hear the noise coming from the house and told the homeowner to just be aware that there had been a complaint.

Saturday, April 23, 1:48 p.m.

Police went to Trebo Road for a complaint of dogs barking. The complainant said that it was a long-term ongoing issue. Police suggested to the dogs’ owner that he find a way to keep them quiet, which he said he would do. Another complaint, police told the dog owner, would mean a ticket.

Sunday, April 24, 10:44 a.m.

A resident of Popple Dungeon called police about a child custody issue, saying that her ex-husband was threatening to call police if she did not meet him to return their child by noon. This is an ongoing civil issue that need to be settled in civil court.

Sunday, April 24, 6:41 p.m.

A Chester officer was sitting in his car in the pull-off on Route 11 West across from the Rod and Gun Club when a tire came rolling from the roadway at a high rate of speed and went into the brush. The officer then saw a silver truck pass with several tires in the bed, stacked above the cab. Police stopped the truck finding that the truck did not have a rear plate and that the driver did not have the registration for the truck. Police told the driver to remove enough tires to make the load safe, leave the extras on the side of the road and come back to get them later. The officer added that if the driver did not come get them, he would be cited for littering for each tire, and he also showed the driver where the errant tire had run off to. The officer also told the driver to put the license plate on the back of the truck until he could get a replacement. The driver received a warning on littering, failing to carry a registration certificate and having an unsecured load and he was cited for not having a rear plate.

Wednesday, April 27, 1:18 p.m.

A woman called police to report that she is concerned about her 73-year-old brother who has been living all over and that , when he gets upset, he begins hitchhiking to a new locations. The woman asked that police pick him up. Police told the woman they could check on him but would not be able to take him against his will if he had not committed a crime or was not a danger to himself or others.

A search did not locate the brother, but there was an ambulance call for a man in front of the Heritage Deli who said he could not walk any longer. The man identified himself as the brother and said that his old legs were done and he needed to go to the hospital. He was transported by Chester Ambulance and police called the sister, who then said she would meet him there.

Thursday, April 28, 3:15 p.m.

On April 24, a man contacted Rockingham dispatch to complain about an animal abuse situation on Route 10 in Chester. That same day, Chester Police were notified of a Facebook posting that showed photographs of the inside of the home where the dogs were kept. While the dogs in the photos appear clean and fed – and with food and water – the residence is in disarray and feces cover the floor. The owner, according to a Facebook comment, leaves the dogs there and comes by once a day. On April 25, the postings said commenters contacted the owner who was cleaning up the mess.

On April 28, Chester Police then went to the home to see that the feces has been cleaned, that there was plenty of food and water. But the dogs were dirty, had a severe flea problem and their nails were so long they couldn’t walk properly.

Police called the owner and told him he had 72 hours to get the dogs to the Humane Society for a medical check, if he was to avoid fines or prosecution. He agreed to do that.

Thursday, April 28, 3:45 p.m.

Police received a request from Springfield Humane Society to accompany them to do a welfare check on a husky dog along Amsden Hill Road. Met with the owner, who was told to provide more water for the dog and several ducks as well as chickens.

Sunday, May 1, 7:17 p.m.

Police stopped a  1995 Acura in a driveway on Grafton Road because it didn’t have a valid inspection sticker on its windshield. While speaking to the driver, the officer smelled burned and fresh marijuana coming from the vehicle. The officer then asked the driver to surrender her stash, which included a small amount of pot in a zip lock baggie (1.5 grams) and a glass pipe. The driver also consented to a search but no other contraband was found. She was cited for possession of marijuana.

Tuesday, May 3, 5:40 p.m.

Police stopped an 11-year-old Subaru on Route 10 because it was lacking a valid inspection sticker. While speaking with the driver, the officer could smell fresh marijuana. He then asked the driver to surrender his marijuana (4.1 grams including the packaging) and the marijuana pipe. The driver was cited for possession. This is the driver’s second offense.