Jay

NEWPORT — The ACLU has appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court on behalf of a Vermont couple who were prosecuted following an August 2018 “roving patrol” stop by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Jay.

In State v. Lena-Butterfield & Walker-Brazie, the Court will be asked to determine whether a person can be convicted on state charges based on evidence federal agents obtained in a manner that violated the protections afforded by Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution.

On August 12, 2018, Brandi Lena-Butterfield and Phillip Walker-Brazie were driving west on Vermont Route 105 toward their home in Richford when a Border Patrol Agent stopped the couple’s vehicle and asked to search it.

The couple refused to consent to a search.

Without obtaining a warrant and over the couple’s objections, the agent ordered them from the car and conducted a search.

The resulting evidence, less than 5 ounces of marijuana and mushrooms, was turned over to a Vermont State Trooper, and Ms. Lena-Butterfield and Mr. Walker-Brazie were subsequently charged with possession by the Orleans County State’s Attorney’s office.

The ACLU contends that the search would have violated Vermont’s Constitution if conducted by a state official, and therefore the evidence cannot be used in a state prosecution.

Vermont’s Constitution requires that to search a vehicle without a warrant, an officer must have either consent or probable cause plus urgent circumstances, neither of which were present in this case.

The Border Patrol claims the authority to conduct “roving patrol” vehicle stops and searches in the interior of the country, but those stops must be based on “reasonable suspicion” of an immigration violation, and searches require “probable cause.”

“When a vehicle is stopped in Vermont and the evidence is used by Vermont prosecutors, in a Vermont Court, then the Vermont Constitution should apply,” said ACLU of Vermont Staff Attorney Lia Ernst. “To allow otherwise would allow local prosecutors to effectively do an end run around our constitution and remove an important check on the Border Patrol.

The ACLU of Vermont will be filing its opening brief in State v. Lena-Butterfield & Walker-Brazie in the coming months.

JAY — Police responded to a two-vehicle crash in Jay this morning.

The crash took place on Vermont Route 105 just west of Leavitt Circle at around 7:15 a.m.

Police say a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze driven by Sharon Gelo, 61, of Lowell, was headed west.

Gelo told police she drifted off the south side of the road where the front of her vehicle struck a guardrail.

The force of the impact with the guardrail caused her to redirect back into the road in front of a 2018 Ford F350 which was also traveling west.

Police say the pickup truck was towing a trailer and transporting an excavator.

The driver was identified as Jonathan Fisher, 35, of Newport.

Fisher attempted to avoid the collision by swerving to the left, but the front of the truck impacted the rear of Gelo’s car.

Police say Gelo was extricated from her vehicle by members of the Jay Fire Department and transported to the hospital by Missisquoi Ambulance.

Fisher was not injured in the crash.

JAY — Vermont Agency of Transportation crews were busy at Jay Peak this morning during the snowstorm after vehicles were unable to make it up the hill.

At 8:48 a.m. police responded to a report of a vehicle crash on Vermont Route 242, in Westfield, the back side of Jay Peak.

There was one vehicle in the snow bank and 47 vehicles who were not able to make the hill to the resort and were blocking traffic.

Both sides of Route 242 were shut down for approximately one hour while the vehicles were turned around to wait at the bottom of the mountain until AOT was able to plow the roadway for traffic to flow.

At 11:14 a.m. the Vermont State Police were back in Jay after two tour buses got stuck trying to go up the mountain.

One of the tour buses ended up blocking both lanes of travel.

Route 242 was closed again for approximately one and a half hours.

NEWPORT — An 18-year-old driver escaped uninjured after crashing into a utility pole in Newport Center on Monday.

At around 9:15 p.m. police responded to the single-vehicle crash on Searles Road.

Police say the driver, identified as Rider Morse, of Jay, traveled off the road and struck the utility pole, snapping it in half.

According to the report, Morse was not injured during the crash, but the vehicle, a 2008 Nissan Altima, had to be towed from the scene.

Vermont Electric responded afterward to replace the utility pole.

JAY — The Jay Fo­cus Group will be of­fer­ing a schol­ar­ship of up to $500 for ed­u­ca­tional costs to help a local high school se­nior from Or­leans County en­hance their fu­ture through con­tin­ued ed­u­ca­tion.

The schol­ar­ship re­quires pre­vi­ous com­mu­nity ser­vice in­volve­ment.

Ap­pli­cants must at­tach one ref­er­ence re­gard­ing their com­mu­nity ser­vice in­volve­ment to their ap­pli­ca­tion, as well as con­fir­ma­tion of ac­cep­tance to their choice of con­tin­ued ed­u­ca­tion. This reference cannot be from a fam­ily mem­ber.

Schol­ar­ship ap­pli­ca­tions are due by Tues­day, May 1.

The win­ner will be an­nounced on May 15.

For an ap­pli­ca­tion, visit www.jayvt.com, or e-mail jay­fo­cusgp@gmail.com

NEWPORT — A 47-year-old man from Jay was arrested for a DUI on Thursday morning in Newport.

At around 6:40 a.m., a state police trooper was flagged down by multiple concerned citizens in Newport City.

One of the witnesses told police that a Dodge Ram with a sander in the bed of the truck was driving around the city erratically.

The trooper was then advised by another concerned citizen that the driver was having trouble speaking. This witness described the same vehicle.

Police made contact with the vehicle in Newport City in front of Little G’s Market.

The operator identified himself verbally as Christopher Gagne.

Police say Gagne’s speech was unintelligible at times and the odor of intoxicants was detected.

He was arrested and transported to Newport City Police Department for processing.

JAY — A 54-year-old man from Newport turned himself in to police Tuesday night after he saw images of himself on the evening news walking out of the Jay Country Store wearing a vest he did not pay for. Police had released the photos to the media just hours earlier.

Police say Stephen Romprey turned himself in at around 11:45 p.m.

An employee of the Jay Country Store contacted police back on January 7, saying that surveillance footage from the night before showed a man trying on a vest and leaving without paying. Employees working at the time told police he had come in asking to use the bathroom and saying that he was going to purchase gas.

After leaving the bathroom, he was recorded trying on several jackets before deciding on the vest. He eventually kept the vest on, put his jacket back on, and walked out without further conversation with the employees.

The surveillance footage also showed him leaving in a black Jeep Cherokee with Vermont plates. The photos were shown on a news broadcast Tuesday, and police say that Romprey turned himself in after seeing the photos.

Whether Romprey intentionally left the Jay Country Store without paying for the vest, or it was just an honest mistake, he will have to appear in Orleans County Court on February 24 to answer to the charge of petit larceny.