Police Beat
Granville Police Beat
Editor’s Note: A charge is not a conviction. All persons listed are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges can be amended or dismissed.
March 1
10:30 a.m. – Police were dispatched to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle in the rear parking lot of the Verizon building on North Street. The officer spoke with the driver, who advised of car trouble and was attempting to seek help.
March 2
12:35 p.m. – A patrol was advised of a noise complaint allegedly emanating from the vicinity of the VFW post on North Street. The officer was delayed in arriving due to a traffic stop. Upon arrival about an hour later, the parties were advised to quiet down.
8 p.m. – A Park Avenue resident came to the station to advise he had concerns about the welfare of a neighbor. A patrol was able to make contact with the individual and there were no concerns.
March 3
7:45 p.m. – Police responded to a South Maple Street residence for a report of a 911 hang up call. The resident advised she had a dispute over property but no longer required police assistance. The matter was closed without further incident.
8 p.m. – An officer was dispatched to assist the state police at a traffic stop on West Main Street.
March 4
12:53 p.m. – A woman called about locating a long gun buried in leaves along the Rail Trial behind a North Street residence. Police responded and located the gun, which was identified as a pellet rifle, in poor condition. No one in the area acknowledged ownership of the gun. The weapon was secured.
Whitehall Police Beat
Feb. 29
2:56 p.m. Police were called to a Boardman Street residence by a neighbor who reported two people were trying to get into the house. Officers located one of the people nearby and told him he had been identified as trying to break into the residence. The man said he and his companion had been checking on items an acquaintance had at the house so the acquaintance could rent a large enough trailer to remove her possessions. They were warned to stay away from the residence. The caller confirmed that the two had been examining the possessions but had not attempted to enter the house.
7:34 p.m. Officers were notified that a caller to the 9-1-1 emergency line had reported a man had threatened a woman with a gun in the area of Gilmore Street. When police arrived at the scene, the woman was not there, but a nearby utility worker told officers a vehicle in the area had moved to a service station parking lot. The driver of that vehicle was located and told police the woman had jumped into a van that had driven her to yet another location. Police then went to that location and saw the woman through the windows of a store saying, “I need to get away from the windows, someone is after me.” Officers and the woman moved to the back of the store, where she told them she did not know where she was or who had threatened her. She also told them she had not seen a firearm. The woman had a large laceration on her forehead and other injuries; she told them she had fallen while running away from where she felt threatened. She declined to give a statement but agreed to go to the hospital. She did say her phone had been hacked and people were watching her. She acknowledged she had smoked drugs. She was taken to Glens Falls Hospital.
March 3
2:02 p.m. Dispatch alerted police to a general fire alarm at a Poultney Street business. Officers found the interior of the business filled with smoke. An employee told police he had burned butter in an oven, triggering the alarm. The Whitehall Volunteer Fire Department ventilated the shop.
7:16 p.m. A woman called 9-1-1 to report she was being followed by a gray Jeep. She also said a male has been watching her and had been parked in front of the Broadway building where she had gone for about 40 minutes. Police spoke to the driver of the vehicle, who told them he was waiting for his brother to get home and had been parked outside his house. The driver was on the phone with his brother while speaking to police. Officers then spoke with the woman, who told them she thinks her ex-boyfriends are after her. A New York state trooper who was also on the scene told village police he had dealt with the woman the previous evening. Officers told her to call them again if she felt threatened.
7:33 p.m. Police received a report from a Fourth Avenue man that his upstairs neighbor was crying. When officers arrived, the girl’s stepfather told them his stepdaughter was screaming and crying, apparently because he had not given her money she had requested. As officers started to walk up the stairs, the man – who was standing at the top of the steps – fell down the entire flight and smashed his head on a door frame. Emergency medical personnel checked him out and advised him to go to the hospital. The stepdaughter, who had told police she had been upset because her stepfather would not give her money he was supposed to, agreed to pick him up at the hospital after he gave her his debit card.
March 4
1:30 p.m. Village police responded to a report of an assault on Montcalm Avenue initially reported to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The victim told officers a woman had struck her in the face with a cellphone and kicked her in the ribs after the victim had parked in front of a shared driveway while talking to neighbors. The victim’s account was confirmed by a witness, who also provided police with some still photos of the altercation. The victim was treated at Rutland Medical Center. She provided police with a deposition the next day after being treated, as did the witness. Charges are reported to be pending.
March 5
7:50 a.m. A Whitehall man using a “loaner” vehicle from a local repair shop while his own vehicle was being repaired crashed the loaner into a cement wall on North Williams Street. The driver told police he was reaching for a cup of coffee when his borrowed pickup truck went off the right side of the road into the wall, causing extensive damage to the passenger side of the truck. No injuries were reported. The damaged truck was towed to the repair shop that had loaned the vehicle in the first place; police did not say if the driver was given another loaner.
Rutland County Sheriff’s Office Beat
March 3
5:26 p.m. – While patrolling in the town of Clarendon a deputy observed a vehicle traveling approximately 97 miles per hour on Cold River Road in a 35-mph zone. The deputy attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle fled and a high-speed pursuit ensued, according to police. The vehicle finally stopped on East Clarendon Road.
The driver was identified as 18-year-old Kalden Wilder of Rutland. He was charged with attempting to elude in a grossly negligent manner, gross negligent operation and excessive speed. Wilder was released on a citation to appear in Rutland Superior Court at a later date. A passenger in the vehicle was not charged.
There were no injuries or accidents connected with the chase.
Vermont State Police Beat
March 3
10 p.m. – Troopers from the Vermont State Police Rutland barracks learned of an assault that had taken place hours earlier in the Town of West Rutland. The investigation revealed that 40-year-old Alexander Keefe had allegedly caused pain or injury to a family or household member and in doing so violated multiple conditions of release. Keefe was transported to the Rutland State Police barracks for processing and subsequently issued court-ordered conditions of release before being held at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility without bail.
Keefe is charged with second-degree aggravated domestic assault, three counts of violation of condition of release and interference with access to emergency services.
10:22 p.m. – Troopers responded to a domestic disturbance at a residence on Danby Pawlet Road in the Town of Danby for the report of a male firing a firearm inside the residence. Troopers arrived on scene and identified the male as 25-year-old Ryan Battease of Danby. The investigation revealed Battease allegedly fired a black powder revolver at a family/household member, narrowly missing them. Battease resisted arrest and was taken into custody and transported to the Vermont State Police Rutland barracks for processing. Under order of the court, Battease was held without bail at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility pending a future court appearance.
March 6
8:02 a.m. – State police investigated a two-vehicle crash involving a Vermont Transportation construction truck and a private vehicle. Michael Klisivitch, 71, of Brandon, is alleged to have failed to move over for the Vermont Transportation truck, which was parked in the outer lane with its amber lights flashing. There were no injuries reported and a civil complaint against Klisivitch is pending.
9:50 a.m. – Troopers were notified of a bomb threat at the Walgreen’s store in West Rutland. The report proved to be unfounded. Anyone who might have information about the incident is asked to call the state police at 802-773-9101.
March 8
6 p.m. – Troopers from the Rutland barracks helped execute a search warrant on Pearl Street in the city of Rutland. Troopers located 31-year-old Robert Sawyer of Rutland at the residence. It was determined that Sawyer was in violation of court-ordered conditions of release and a relief from abuse order. Sawyer was taken into custody and transported to the state police barracks in Rutland for processing and subsequently lodged at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Center on $1,000 bail.
