Derby Line

DERBY LINE — Jafet Rodriguez, 39, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, has been charged with unlawfully smuggling tropical birds into Vermont from Canada, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and the federal anti-smuggling statute.

Rodriguez appeared before United States Magistrate Judge John Conroy yesterday and was released on personal recognizance.

According to court documents, on December 30, 2019, at 10:30 a.m., Rodriguez walked across the Canadian border near the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line and approached a car parked in Stanstead, Quebec.

According to the Government’s allegations, the defendant retrieved a black duffle bag containing the birds from the vehicle parked in Quebec and then walked back into the United States.

United States Border Patrol Agents intercepted Rodriquez after he entered another vehicle with Pennsylvania license plates in Derby Line.

The agents recovered seven live tropical birds from this vehicle.

According to court records, the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory determined that five of the birds were Yellow-headed Amazons and two birds were White-bellied Parrots.

These birds are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, commonly referred to as “CITES”.

Under the Endangered Species Act, species which are protected under CITES cannot be imported without the appropriate permits.

The birds were turned over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and transported to the New York Animal Import Center in Rock Tavern, New York for a period of quarantine.

If he is convicted, Rodriguez faces a maximum possible term of imprisonment of 20 years under the statute prohibiting the unlawful smuggling of merchandise into the United States.

DERBY LINE — An active shooter scare in Derby Line this afternoon caused a local school to go on “lockout,” but police say that there is no danger to the public at this time.

It started at around 1:09 p.m. when the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department received a call to their dispatch reporting a shooting at a residence on Caswell Avenue in Derby Line.

The male caller stated that he had just shot a family member, giving police a physical address on Caswell Avenue, which was confirmed by the dispatcher.

While attempting to gather further information, the caller hung up and gave no return phone number.

Police say the phone number was not recorded by their caller ID.

A multiagency response took place at the residence on Caswell Avenue included Deputies from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, the Vermont State Police, US Customs and Border Protection, US Border Patrol, Newport Police Department, and the Department of Motor Vehicle Enforcement Unit.

Police say the large presence of federal agents was due to the proximity of the reported scene to the United States Port of Entry on 1-91 and the fact that Caswell Avenue runs along the US-Canadian border.

Officers made a tactical approach to the house and met the owner who stated that it was not him that had called and he was alone in the residence.

The residence was searched by a responding team of officers and nothing was found.

Police say while officers were beginning to clear from the scene, three distinct gunshots were heard nearby.

At this time, officers regrouped to a safe area and a decision was made to check several nearby houses.

The Derby Elementary School was notified and school officials placed the school on lockout until the end of the school day.

Neighboring homes were checked and nothing further was found, police say.

According to a statement issued by Sheriff Kirk Martin, there were no injuries to any party at this time.

By 2:30 p.m. all units cleared the scene and Caswell Avenue was re-opened to traffic and residents were let back to their home.

The school was also notified and opted to remain in their current status until the end of the school day.

DERBY LINE — The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed that insects collected from ash trees in Derby Line are emerald ash borers (EAB).

This is the first detection in Orleans County.

Landowners and other residents of Derby and surrounding towns are urged to look for signs and symptoms of the insect and report suspicious findings on vtinvasives.org.

Based on tree symptoms, EAB had already spread to this location before it was first detected in Vermont last year.

Although this is a new location in Vermont, the Coaticook and Memphremagog Regional County Municipalities, due north of Orleans County in Quebec, have been part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s EAB regulated area since January 2018.

EAB is likely to be present in other locations within ten miles of known infestations.

In addition to Derby, this area includes Newport City and Holland, and parts of Newport Town, Coventry, Charleston, Brownington, Morgan, and Norton.

Moving any infested material, especially ash firewood, logs, and pruning debris, can quickly expand the infestation.

One important recommendation is to obtain firewood locally.

Authorities say if you’re going camping this summer to leave your firewood at home.

It is still illegal to bring untreated firewood from out of state into Vermont.

EAB larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves water and sugars up and down the trunk.

It was first discovered in North America in the Detroit area in 2002, and over the past seventeen years, it has decimated ash populations.

EAB is known to occur in 35 states and five Canadian provinces.

DERBY LINE — Six people who authorities say entered the U.S. illegally in Derby Line, and the driver who picked them up, were arrested on Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, on the evening of May 1, agents at the Newport Border Patrol station learned that a group of people were entering the United States from Canada on foot, near an area known as Goodall Farm.

Agents in the area say they observed six individuals huddled together in a wooded area near the border.

Shortly thereafter, they say an SUV drive up to the group. The vehicle stopped and the six individuals got in. The vehicle was later pulled over.

Authorities say the driver was identified as Francisco Alejo-Medrano, 27, a citizen of Mexico.

The six passengers were all determined to be undocumented Mexican citizens.

All seven people in the vehicle were arrested.

Alejo-Medrano appeared in court yesterday on a charge that he unlawfully transported a group of people entering the United States illegally.

U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss ordered that Alejo-Medrano be detained pending further proceedings.

According to court records, the six passengers are being charged with unlawfully entering the United States.

If convicted, Alejo-Medrano faces up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.