Derby Line

DERBY LINE – The $33 million construction project at the Derby Line Port of Entry is now complete.

The new building, located on Interstate 91, is expected to improve efficiency at one of busiest crossings in Vermont.

Construction started in the summer of 2016.

The building supports the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations.

The U.S. General Services Administration says improvements will bring long-term operational, public safety, and security benefits.

Major elements of the project included a new main port building that includes administrative offices, processing and immigration services spaces, as well as officer work areas.

There is also five new inspection booths and lane configurations.

DERBY LINE — The Caswell Avenue bridge over I-91 at the U.S. – Canadian border is open to traffic once again.

At this time the bridge is open to two-way traffic, however, over the next couple of weeks, there will be one-lane closures with alternating one-way traffic as the work is completed.

Construction at the bridge started back in April.

Workers replaced the bearings, structural steel, deck, pavement, and railing on the existing bridge.

The construction project cost around $5.23 million.

The bridge is 315 feet in length and 38 feet wide and includes two travel lanes as well as a sidewalk on the north side.

DERBY LINE — A series of car break-ins taking place in Derby Line has police seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspects.

On Sunday, police received multiple calls of thefts occurring from motor vehicles in the area of Kingsbury Avenue.

Police say overnight, multiple vehicles had been entered and various items were stolen.

It was reported that two revolvers, as well as multiple debit and credit cards, were taken from vehicles in the area.

In the area of Elm Street, police say someone opened several unlocked car doors, stealing numerous wallets and purses.

“Any residents of the areas who may have surveillance footage that may be used in an attempt to identify the subjects, is urged to contact the Vermont State Police Derby Barracks-Trooper Ferrier at 802-334-8881,” a statement issued by police reads.

DERBY LINE — A Quebec man was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment for smuggling over 100 handguns to Quebec, some of which passed through the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line.

Alexis Vlachos, 41, of Montreal, previously pled guilty to conspiring to export, and actually exporting, firearms from the United States to Canada without a license.

According to court records, Vlachos agreed that from July 2010 to April 2011, he and defendants Annette Wexler and Jaime Ruiz executed a plan to smuggle the guns purchased in Florida by way of northern Vermont and northeast New York.

As part of the conspiracy, Vlachos would usually take custody of the firearms in Quebec, where he sold many of them.

Some of the firearms smuggled were first brought to the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, by Wexler and Ruiz.

The Haskell Free Library building straddles the international border of Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec.

On at least two occasions, Wexler and Ruiz worked together to stash several firearms contained in small backpacks inside the trashcan of the library bathroom.

Wexler then coordinated with Vlachos, who had entered the library from Quebec, to retrieve the firearms from the bathroom.

Vlachos then transported the firearms to Quebec, where he sold many of them.

Annette Wexler previously pled guilty to conspiring to make false statements to licensed gun dealers and unlawful exportation. She was sentenced to time served and two years of supervised release.

Ruiz also pled guilty to two offenses relating to this smuggling conspiracy. He passed away due to an illness, and the charges against him were dismissed.

Vlachos was originally charged with these offenses in January 2015, but the process of extraditing him to the United States took over two years to complete.

Vlachos faced a maximum possible term of imprisonment of twenty years.

A quick update on the Caswell Avenue Bridge project in Derby Line:

The contractor completed the second of three concrete pours for the bridge surface.

Early next week, they will complete the final concrete pour for the new bridge deck.

The contractor will continue installing foundations for overhead signs through next week.

Traffic will continue to follow the signed and signalized detour.

Occasional one-lane closures will continue on I-91 with at least one lane in each direction open at all times.

The project is expected to be completed in October.

DERBY LINE — Police are looking for the driver in a hit-and-run incident that took place in Derby Line on Tuesday night.

At around 10 p.m. the Vermont State Police received a report that a vehicle struck several parked cars before leaving the scene on Main Street.

Witnesses say it was possibly a white SUV.

A GMC grill was located in the debris at the scene.

Anyone with information in regards to a white GMC SUV or its operator is asked to call the Vermont State Police Derby at 802-334-8881.

The vehicle should have damage to the passenger side front end and maybe have blue paint transfer on its own front bumper.

DERBY LINE — U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Newport station apprehended seven Romanian citizens and four French citizens as they attempted to illegally enter the United States in Derby Line.

During the early morning hours of March 3, authorities received a report that two vehicles had crossed the international border by driving over the sidewalk west of the Haskell Free Library.

Agents located the vehicles and stopped them after they exited Interstate 91 at exit 27 in Newport.

Inside the two vehicles were four French citizens, two adults and two children, and seven Romanian citizens, four adults and three children.

During questioning, the adults in the vehicles admitted that they were not citizens of the United States and that they did not possess any immigration documentation allowing them to enter or remain in the United States.

Agents arrested the six adults and transported the vehicles’ occupants to the Newport Border Patrol Station for records checks and processing.

After processing, agents turned all 11 illegal aliens over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal proceedings.

DERBY LINE — Police are looking for a man who exposed himself to a child at a playground in Derby Line.

On Friday, at around 4:30 p.m., police took a report that a male had approached a mother and her young child at the Derby Line playground near Main and Elm Street.

Police say the man then made inappropriate comments to the mother and exposed his genitals to her.

The mother was able to fend the male off after he attempted to grab her by striking him.

Police say they believe that the suspect has been frequenting the playground and area of the school recently.

The suspect is described as a white male approximately 60 years of age, approximately 5’9” and slightly chubby, with gray hair, possibly brown eyes, an older, faded black ink tattoo possibly of a dog’s head on his forearm, and was at the time wearing jeans and a black T-shirt.

Police say the man has been seen operating an older-model black Chevy Blazer with Vermont plates and a rust spot on the front passenger door and on the date of the incident was seen leaving to the west on Elm Street.

The suspect is also believed to have a blackened or injured right eye resulting from the encounter.

Anyone with information which may assist in identifying the suspect is strongly encouraged to call police at (802) 334-8881.