Tuesday, May 19, 2015

WVTK Local & State News May 19, 2015

Police this afternoon are investigating an armed robbery at the Citizen's Bank on Shelburne Road in South Burlington. Details are limited at this point but police say the suspect had a gun and that no one was injured during the robbery. The suspect left the bank, apparently on foot.

The New York Senate has passed a bill to create a registry of violent offenders. A press release says the the bill, the Domestic Violence Protection Act, also known as Brittany's Law, would create a publicly accessible registry of all the individuals convicted of a violent felony and allow local law enforcement to keep track of their location. The bill now heads to the New York Assembly.

Ground has broken on a new transit center at Cherry and St. Paul streets in Burlington. Mayor Miro Weinberger says the $7-million station will serve as a hub for the Chittenden County Transit Authority. It will feature a 26-hundred square foot terminal, with an upper level for passengers and a lower level for bus drivers. The station is expected to be open next year.

Former Colchester police officer Tyler Kinney is facing up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal gun and drug charges. Kinney admits that he stole heroin and firearms from the Colchester Police evidence locker. The stolen items were used to feed Kinney's heroin addiction and that of a friend and fellow addict. Kinney remains free on bail and will be formally sentenced in October.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Department of Public Safety will conduct a full scale test of the Amber Alert System. The test will be used to assess and evaluate changes in technology used to alert Vermonters when the Amber Alert System is activated. The test will include a mass emailing to a variety of organizations, activation of the Vermont Lottery Notification System, coordination with Vermont Agency of Transportation messaging signs, and dissemination of information to Vermont broadcasters. The Emergency Broadcast System may be activated, as well. All communication associated with this test will be preceded with the following notice: “THIS IS A TEST OF THE AMBER ALERT SYSTEM”