To the troopers who stopped a wrong-way driver on I-91 in the middle of the night, the dispatchers on the receiving end of twenty-plus abusive calls, the officers who dealt with the same Montpelier man twice before breakfast, and every deputy, agent and municipal officer who answered a call in between: thank you. Your work keeps Vermont’s roads, homes and schools safer, and it rarely gets the credit it deserves.
On September 26, police found the infant inside a room and determined that Merrill had allegedly locked herself in a bathroom for several hours while the baby was crying and needed care. Witnesses told police Merrill later left the residence without the infant and did not return.
Also: Hartford man, 62, identified as victim of vehicle fire; CSAM producer sentenced; Man charged after child found on second-story windowsill
Elsewhere the pattern was familiar and grim — domestic and sexual assault arrests in Washington County, an interstate fentanyl pipeline intercepted on a Brattleboro side street, and a steady run of out-of-state fugitives turning up at Vermont ports of entry and traffic stops.
Also: Man accused of threatening clerk over cigarettes, assaulting officer, and a man held without bail in Waterbury sex-assault case
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM: A 79-year-old driver from Texas was arrested Thursday after police say he turned around and drove the wrong way on Interstate 91 to speak with a state trooper.
A motorcyclist accused of traveling 123 MPH on Interstate 91, a fatal motorcycle crash in Dorset, an alleged assault at Central Vermont Medical Center and the recovery of a stolen vehicle are among incidents reported by Vermont police following the Labor Day weekend.
A judge ruled Sept. 1 that the second-degree murder prosecution of Jozsef Piri, 52, can proceed to trial in the 2019 shooting death of a delivery driver on Route 103 in Rockingham.
Agents allegedly found one person crouched on the front passenger floor, three hiding under blankets in the second row and two concealed beneath a blanket in the third row
Two Massachusetts fugitives arrested in Derby — Two people with no fixed address were arrested after Vermont State Police troopers recognized them as fugitives wanted in Massachusetts.
A 60-year-old Newfane man is facing a fourth DUI charge and several other offenses after Vermont State Police say he crashed an ATV while carrying a 4-year-old passenger, injuring both of them.
Also, Vermont State Police are seeking the public’s help identifying two suspects who allegedly broke into the Champlain Farms convenience store at 5127 Main St. in Waitsfield early Tuesday morning.
Hartford police say a 66-year-old man intentionally flooded his third-floor apartment in an effort to damage the building and force his own eviction, leaving eight apartments uninhabitable.
Also, two truck crashes in northeastern VT, and Smokies make DUI bust in Queen City
Troopers from the St. Johnsbury Barracks were dispatched at about 12:22 PM Tuesday, Aug. 4, to a residence on Clarks Cross Road in Topsham. Police said two EMS members told investigators that Thomas Powley, 45, pointed a long gun directly at them while they were at the home.
Two themes ran through the past seven days. The first was violence among people who already knew each other — a shooting in Newbury, a bat attack in Plainfield, domestic assault arrests in half a dozen towns. The second was resolution, as courts in Bennington, Rutland and Addison closed long-running felony files.
Vermont State Police are investigating a shooting that left a man seriously injured Sunday afternoon on Jefferson Hill Road in Newbury.
Miles and Sears lured the victim onto St. Paul Street from College Street with the intent to rob him, police say.
The scammers allegedly used fake government letterhead, emails and threats to convince the woman to withdraw a large sum of money, purchase gold and turn it over to a purported government “agent” for safekeeping.
The young woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Also, the Attorney General’s Office also announced charges in two separate Medicaid fraud cases as part of a nationwide health care fraud crackdown.
Vermont State Police are investigating several incidents across the state this week, including a dealership burglary in Clarendon, charges involving a Dorset man accused of offenses against a teenager, and a shooting in Swanton Town that left a woman injured.
She was riding a 2022 Harley-Davidson Nightster southbound when she struck a guardrail.
Tunbridge school fire ruled accidental; Six people threatened by man in public place
A Lyndonville man faces multiple charges, including his sixth DUI, after police say he fled on foot from officers responding to a report of erratic driving Saturday night.
David McGuire, 39, of Maine, died at the scene from injuries sustained when a six-passenger utility terrain vehicle left the roadway, went down an embankment and struck multiple trees at about 8:25 p.m. April 18.
Cops hearing complaints about prostitution among transients. Early AM wrongway driver. Alpha male arrested for drunk driving.
A Bristol man was cited for driving under the influence Tuesday, March 31 after crashing his vehicle into a Main Street business in Waitsfield late Tuesday afternoon, according to the Vermont State Police.
The child was taken to the UVM Medical Center for treatment.
Police say Tardif made threats about using firearms against responding troopers before their arrival. When officers reached the scene, they secured a victim inside the home and encountered Tardif outside, where he allegedly refused commands and resisted arrest.
The back lot of a church with a history of housing Montpelier’s homeless was the site of a violent fracas Saturday evening.
Ayala, 34, of Hartford had an extraditable arrest warrant out of the state of Connecticut for a parole violation.
CT teenager charged with felony drug possession after raid on drug house jailed – for now.
4:34 p.m. on Vermont Route 279.
Walker was operating with his lights and siren activated near the intersection with Kocher Drive when his cruiser was involved in a collision with a second vehicle.
State and local police busy with DUI, domestic abuse cases this month.
A female employee reported that a male customer allegedly exposed himself in one of the aisles before leaving the store.
Suspects in Willoughby Lake Store burglary arrested.
A juvenile passenger in the Dodge and a 66-year-old passenger in the Cadillac were airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center with severe injuries.
Two domestic violence cases and multiple DUI cases from around Vermont this weekend.
Vermont State Police say each teenager targeted the other with harassing and threatening behavior.
The woman’s car crossed the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle.
Moments later, a 25-year-old man from Milton entered the lobby of the Colchester Police Department at 835 Blakely Road with a facial wound.
Vermont State Police said the bus, returning from a dance recital, left the roadway on the southbound Exit 3 off-ramp in wet, slushy conditions. The driver, Brittany Pontier, 26, of Bennington, was able to reenter the roadway, and the bus continued on its way.
Former Rutland woman arrested for child porn exploitation.
Also, St. J cops arrest wanted man from Connecticut.
New Hampshire authorities will conduct a death investigation.
Police said the threats involved serious harm to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents.
A second vehicle was unable to stop before striking the downed pole and power lines knocked down by the first vehicle.
Police say the road rager pointed a gun at another driver.
Investigators said Aviles admitted possessing the stolen firearms, which were recovered earlier in December from a local church.
Both suspected burglars were jailed for lack of bail.
Lucas was arrested after troopers found he had an active $100,000 extraditable warrant from Florida for multiple charges including obscene communication using a computer to solicit a child.
Only when serious injury, death, or some other drastic event occurs does a DUI typically merit news coverage.
McGrath also exchanged over 1,800 messages with a third person, coaching that person as to how to sexually abuse an 11-year-old girl, providing explicit instructions, and requesting photographs of the abuse.
According to police, 39-year-old Jody Sears placed the driver—identified only as a family member—in a neck restraint, causing pain and putting everyone in the vehicle at risk.
Dudley was lodged at the Southern State Correctional Facility in lieu of $30,000 bail and issued a criminal citation.
Also, speeding in Milton leads to arrest, as well as a transient arrested for allegedly stealing alcohol, crashing a vehicle, fleeing officers.
The driver, a 23-year-old transient, fled at speeds topping 95 mph before crashing in East Montpelier.
A masked person broke a window around 12:07 a.m., entered about two hours later, and stole various shelf items and cash.
Davis had been the subject of an intensive search that began Sept. 19, when troopers responded to a report that he had caused serious injury to a family or household member before fleeing into nearby woods while armed with a firearm.
Man forcibly took municipal truck from its driver then crashed it.
Vermont State Police and local law enforcement agencies made several arrests across the state over the past few days, including a fugitive apprehension in St. Johnsbury, an underage drinking case in Charlotte, a retail theft in Berlin, and a warrant arrest in Richford.
Road rager in crash. 102 MPH on state highway.
To date, MPD has conducted numerous aerial searches using unmanned aircraft systems, also known as drones, coupled with focused ground searches.
Burglaries in Derby, Shrewsbury. Berlin police cope with a spate of retail theft.
Lights flashing enroute to a domestic sexual assault in Jay, Trooper Lynch’s cruiser struck a deer.
Berlin police have cited Scott Haldane, 60, of Washington, Vermont, in connection with nine separate thefts from Price Chopper/Market 32 on Ames Drive.
Wanted and dangerous couple apprehended in MA. Drilling gasoline tanks. Inmate dies after 32 years in prison. Truck strikes boulder in Notch.
Arrest warrants for attempted murder have been issued. Police now describe the incident on Saturday as involving gunfire.
Newport Police discovered an abandoned building where John had been staying. A witness told police John was holding the woman hostage there and had given her a black eye.
The driver of the Suzuki bike was pronounced dead at the scene.
Welfare fraud in the Kingdom. Drunk river hits boat trailer at Chittenden Dam.
Homeless woman assaults cops, hospital worker; Ejected from bar, spike strips employed; $5,000 bail for release violation, suspended license
Also, a woman is charged with assaulting the Waterbury fire chief, and motorcyclist flees police at 100 MPH.
Police say Bailey, who was at a workplace of a person he was not permitted to approach via court order, fled officers in Burlington on June 2 and discarded a fanny pack containing a loaded Sig Sauer pistol.
Staniszewski had slowed eastbound on Route 302 to allow a truck to turn into the P & H Truck Stop when Mart, also traveling eastbound, struck the rear of his motorcycle.
Police executed a search warrant at Doyle’s home and recovered several hundred items believed to be stolen.
Assault at Berlin homeless camp. Pistol whipping in Hinesburg. Arrest in Ford dealership robbery.
The infant is being treated at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries.
Ryan struck a woman with a can of soup and then hit her in the head with a phone, causing injuries, police say.
Cocaine, guns and suspects seized in Royalton drug raid.
Palmer was administered Narcan and transported to Central Vermont Medical Center, where she was later released. She initially provided officers with a false name, and further investigation revealed the vehicle and license plates were stolen.
A silver ring with engravings was recovered at the scene of a Derby Line car vandalism, and police are seeking information about its owner.
Perhaps no other Vermont landmark except Smugglers Notch is more prone to trucking mishaps than the Millers Run Covered Bridge in Lyndonville.
Bennington police concluded no gunfire had taken place at the hospital.
Police say Noah Young, 23, committed two counts of sexual assault of a juvenile, domestic assault, and possession of illicit material.
Police say MacNevins, a habitual offender, trashed a woman’s apartment and took her property. He was held without bail. Also, the Hartford CT connection again apparent in a big drug raid.
Police say Armstrong resisted arrest at the scene, then at North Country Hospital attempted to assault healthcare providers, a security officer, and troopers — including spitting in an officer’s face — and repeatedly broke free from hospital restraints.
The Fayston driver died as workers tried to extricate him.
Crashes claim lives of two Vermonters.
Police said Davis was motivated by anger over a former girlfriend’s new relationship with someone connected to the property.
The impersonator used the name of a known officer, but the resident, who was personally familiar with the officer, quickly identified the call as fraudulent.
Police are looking for a VW with a Vermont Strong license plate.
The child reported that Shores had exposed himself to her.
State Police say Maria Chagnon was taken into custody on July 28 at her home following a joint investigation by VSP and the Department for Children and Families that began on July 4.
After acquiring the fentanyl from Wright, Cutler returned home and died shortly afterward.
The fire began after an unknown person performed a “burnout” in a blue 2010 Dodge Dakota, causing one of the tires to ignite.
Impersonating a state trooper. Knocking over mailboxes and fleeing the scene.
Suspicious death in Pittsford. Gun charges related to military discharge. 102 MPH, drugs, brass knuckles. Woman’s body ID’d 51 years later.
The man was pronounced deceased on scene. The trooper who fired his service weapon was uninjured.
