By VDC staff
Four people were arrested Monday after Rutland police stopped a vehicle that Vermont State Police say had been stolen overnight from a Clarendon business.
Christopher Herring, 45, of Rutland was held on $20,000 bail on charges of grand larceny, operation without the owner’s consent, larceny from a motor vehicle and possession of burglar’s tools.
State police said they were notified at about 10:45 AM Sept. 29 that a vehicle belonging to Matthew Esslinger, 46, of Clarendon had been stolen from Pro Cycle on Route 103 in Clarendon sometime during the previous night.
Police issued a lookout for the vehicle to law enforcement agencies in the Rutland area. Rutland City police later spotted it downtown and stopped it on Cottage Street.
Herring was driving the vehicle when it was stopped, police said. Investigators allege Herring entered the vehicle during the day Sept. 28 and stole its key fob, then returned during the night and stole the vehicle. Police said Herring also had burglar’s tools when he was arrested.
Herring was processed at the Vermont State Police Rutland Barracks and lodged at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility on $20,000 bail. He was ordered to appear in Rutland County Criminal Court Sept. 30.
Three passengers — Joseph Tardif, 43, of Proctor; Melissa Godette, 50, of Rutland; and Jessica Taylor, 40, of Rutland — were also arrested. State police said each was found in possession of stolen property valued at a felony level.
Tardif, Godette and Taylor were processed at the Rutland barracks and released on citations to appear in Rutland County Criminal Court Dec. 7.