Chester police log for April 25 through July 23, 2014

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.

Friday, April 25, 8:29 p.m.

A complaint of barking dogs brought a Chester officer to a Main Street address where one dog who was tied up outside and one who was inside the house were barking at each other. The officer advised the owner – who returned home later – not to separate the dogs and they would not bark at each other. Otherwise the owner would be cited for animal noise.

Monday, May 5, 4:44 p.m.

A Chester officer responded to a Pleasant Street residence regarding use of a debit card without permission. There were conflicting stories and the officer told those involved that he would need sworn written statements before he could do anything. As of June 22, no statements had been filed.

Sunday May 25, 5:37 a.m.

A Massachusetts resident reported that she had rented a house in the Route 103 north area for the weekend and invited friends. The friends had broken up over the weekend and a dispute ensued in which the male friend had been shut out of the bedroom by the female friend and had kicked the door in. The male friend told the Chester officer (who noted that the man was “quite intoxicated”) that he broke the door “cause I love her.” The officer advised the man that he would be responsible for damages and he became belligerent.  He was advised that he could go to jail until sober or if anyone at the house was sober, that person could drive him back to Massachusetts. The female friend said she would drive him and although the officer advised  her it was not a great idea, she insisted.

Monday June 16, 1:37 p.m.

A Chester resident reported that a credit card services company advised him that someone had made a $980 purchase at Macy’s with his Visa card. Police advised that it appeared to be identity theft and that his personal information had been changed including his address. The case is active, but unlikely to be solved as it was done on the Internet.

Thursday June 19, 6:28 p.m.

While running radar on The Green, a Chester officer was approached by a complainant reporting that a hand-held leaf blower was stolen from him while he cut a lawn on Church Street. A neighbor reported that a car had stopped nearby for a moment, then driven away, but the neighbor did not think it suspicious since the tenant of that house had a similar vehicle.  The case is open and under investigation.

Sunday June 22, 1:47 a.m.

A Chester officer was dispatched to an apartment house on Main Street for a disturbance.  A neighbor had complained of loud voices, the noise of things being banged around  and dogs barking. The resident of the apartment said he and a friend were having a good time because it was the only night of the week that he didn’t have to get up for work in the morning. The officer advised him that other people were sleeping and that they needed to quiet down.

Wednesday, June 25, 10:52 a.m.

The Chester Police Department received a complaint from Green Mountain Union High School that a former student had come to the state track meet and stolen a javelin.  The school also alleged that the former student had stolen a javelin and discus before graduating. The subject said that his grandparents had bought the javelin for him and that he had not stolen the equipment the previous year.  The subject’s grandmother produced a receipt for the javelin in question. The officer contacted the school to say he would need statements regarding the other property alleged to have been stolen including descriptions, values and why the alleged theft had not been reported the previous year. The following day a GMUHS official stated that the school had decided to drop the issue.

       5:44 p.m.

A resident on Depot Street reported that a “dwarf umbrella bonsai tree” was missing from the front porch. It is about 2 feet tall with thick, broad green leaves. The tree is in a terra cotta pot with horizontal grooves stamped with the name  G. Wolf. There are no suspects.

Thursday, June 26 1:57 p.m.

An officer responded to a report of a burglary on south Main Street. The complainant said that his father’s safe had been broken into and an unknown amount of money and credit cards were taken. There was no sign of forced entry and the officer suggested that the complainant contact the banks to give them authority to talk with the police and to give the officer a list of the missing contents.  As of the time the report was written, the complainant had not contacted the officer with the list.

Friday, June 27, 9:09 a.m.

There was a report of a suspicious backpack containing wires, a fan and aerosol cans in the parking lot of the American Legion. The complainant thought it might be a makeshift explosive. When a Chester officer arrived, there was no backpack. The complainant confirmed that the backpack was not there anymore.

      4:22 p.m.

A property owner on Main Street reported that someone was apparently sleeping in a car in front of their property and asked that police check on the subject. When a officer arrived, the car and the sleeper were gone.

Saturday, June 28, 5:18 p.m.

A Chester officer responded to a report of a vehicle “all over the road” on Route 11 west coming toward town.  By the time he reached the  car and had time to observe its operation, the vehicle was on Route 103 south. The officer pulled the car over and noticed the smell of marijuana. The driver admitted to “a couple of hits,” and allowed the officer to search the vehicle.  The officer performed a field sobriety test and the search located a small amount of marijuana and hashish along with related paraphernalia.  The operator and the passenger were cited for possession and released.

Sunday, June 29, 3:15 p.m.

Police responded to a report of a broken window alarm on Smokeshire Road. Two people were found in bathing suits by the swimming pool. The two identified themselves and the man said he was the nephew of the home’s owner and had stopped by to use the pool on the way back from a music festival. Police found no signs of a break-in or forced entry. The man also said that when they arrived a worker was on the scene but had since left. The homeowner confirmed that this was his nephew and he had permission to be on premises and that a worker had been at the house.

      10:29 p.m.

Responding to a suspicious vehicle in a driveway on Quarry Road, an officer stopped the car and found that the driver was trying to locate a residence on Popple Dungeon Road using a GPS device. The officer gave the driver directions.

Saturday, July 5, 6:07 p.m.

Responding to an alarm, a Chester officer found an open door but no one home and no evidence of damage or disturbance. It appeared that the house was in the process of being cleaned. Other officers reported that the wind often blew doors open setting off the alarm.

      11 p.m.

Police observed a male in dark clothing hitchhiking on 103 South. The man identified himself and police gave him a courtesy ride to a home. About 30 minutes later, police were dispatched to that residence when a woman called saying that the hitchhiker was making death threats to the woman and was refusing to leave. The hitchhiker was laying on the couch when police arrived. He refused to leave saying that the utilities were in his name and he claimed residency. The woman said they were, but the two were no longer in a relationship and she had kicked him out of the home about a week prior. The woman agreed to allow the hitchhiker to stay in a residence next door, and declined further assistance. She was advised to call 911 if the hitchhiker returned.

Friday, July 11, 3:05 p.m.

Upon arrival to a home on Lovers Lane, police spoke to the homeowner who said he found a torch that had been left on sitting on the barn workbench, and said he had not been in the barn all day. It was discovered that the torch leaked even after the valve was turned off, and that the torch had been used in the morning, turned off, but a map had caught fire when it was laid over it to read. It was agreed that whenever the torch was used, the regulator would be removed when they were finished.

        6:20 p.m.

Complainant worried that a bank customer might retaliate against her because she could not cash his check. She stated that he knows where she lives and that he had a fit in the back over the situation and was very loud. While she wanted it on file in case he did, she would not give full details on the subject because of work protocols.

       10 p.m.

Police were sent to a property on Potash Brook Road for the report of people trespassing even though they had a no-trespassing order against them. The complainant wanted the people arrested. But upon arrival, it was determined that the suspects were on a neighboring property retrieving a vehicle that belonged to one. In researching, a written no-trespassing order could not be found. The complainant then asked that one be written and served against the subjects as well as the mother of one. This was done.

Saturday, July 12, 3:11 p.m.

Police received a report of a car being driven erratically, passing one car and forcing a bus off the road. Police followed the suspect vehicle near Church Street, clocking it at 12 mph over, however it was behind another vehicle and not following too closely. On 103 just south of Route 10, police pulled over the vehicle, which had Connecticut plates. Two children were in rear seats. The driver had no violations to her record and police attempted several times to phone the complainant for an eyewitness account but could only get music on the answering device. The subject was not written up.

      8:34 p.m.

A Chester officer was dispatched to an address on Main Street to look into a report of “mammoth fireworks.”  On arrival, the officer smelled gunpowder, but those in attendance said it was not fireworks but a cannon.  One person said that rather than firing paper confetti, they had been firing burritos out of the cannon.  The officer observed the “burrito shrapnel” and advised those present to “cease the cannon activity” for the evening.

Thursday July 17, 4:19 p.m.

One juvenile was cited for Permitting Illegal Operation of a vehicle and another for lacking a Learner’s Permit as a result of a low speed collision with a tree on Flamstead Road.  One juvenile allowed another to drive because he knew a shortcut, but after missing a sharp turn and hitting a tree, the first juvenile said that she was driving and insisted that the second leave the scene so she would not get into trouble with her parents.

Saturday, July 19, 12:50 p.m.

A complaint was received of a dog left in a truck at a pub on Main Street. The responding officer noted that the windows of the truck were down and that the temperature was about 70 degrees. The complainant noted that the truck had been there for a short time. The officer told the complainant that the dog was fine, but if the temperatures rose to call again.

      2:42 p.m.

A dog on Trebo Road ran out to chase the Chester Police cruiser.  The dog was owned by a person known to the officer and he told her that the dog must be tied up, just like when she lived in town. He told her if it happened again, she would be ticketed.

Wednesday, July 23, 11:06 p.m.

A officer in the parking lot of the Chester Hardware was approached by a man who told him a transformer near the Jiffy Mart was sparking and buzzing.  When the officer arrived at the scene, the transformer was on fire and shortly thereafter, exploded. The officer requested that a Green Mountain Power crew working nearby respond to the scene. Dispatch “toned out” the Chester Fire Department.