Police recover stolen flags
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William Austin on Monday displays the huge flag that was stolen from a pole in front of his antiques business with other flags around the area. The flags were recovered by the Chester Police Department. Vyto Starinskas / Rutland Herald |
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By Brent Curtis STAFF WRITER - Published: June 16, 2009
CHESTER — It was a very special Flag Day on Sunday for business owners and residents whose star-spangled banners were stolen earlier this month on another national hallmark — D-Day.
Local police recovered 13 American flags and two Vermont flags from undisclosed locations in Bellows Falls on Sunday. They also identified three teenage boys between the ages of 16 and 17 as the alleged thieves who made off with the flags during the early morning hours of June 6. The names of the teenagers, who have not been charged criminally, were not released by the police.
But while the story of the flag thefts is bookended by dates enshrined in U.S. history, Chester police officer Matthew Wilson said Monday rumors that the thefts were intended as a political statement were unfounded.
"These were not anti-American acts," Wilson said. "They were stealing stuff to steal stuff … . One of the kids told me he didn't know what D-Day was."
The thefts made headlines two weeks ago when seven flags went missing in Chester, including a huge 15-foot by 23-foot U.S. flag owned by the owner of William Austin's Antiques. Other businesses that reported their flags stolen included, TD Banknorth, which lost its U.S. flag and Vermont flag, Misty Valley Books, the law office of Sarah Vail, and Adams & Kenney Funeral Home.
The incident also prompted a response from Sen. Patrick Leahy who sent flags that once flew over the U.S. Capitol to replace those lost in the small Vermont town.
The arrival of the replacement flags was gratefully received in Chester. But William Austin Smith, who owns the antique store, said he's looking forward to the return of his own Old Glory.
"It's hard to replace," he said. "The 5-by 8-foot flag we received from the senator is great and I plan to hang it upstairs where people can see it. But up on that 60-foot pole, it's a speck compared with the other one."
Austin Smith was the only dispossessed flag owner whose flag was returned on Monday. Wilson said police are sorting through the other flags in an attempt to decipher which flags belong to which owners.
With the flags recovered, Wilson said he would be sitting down with the Windsor County State's Attorney's Office to decide whether criminal charges should be brought against the three teenagers.
Wilson said Monday criminal charges were not a given — due to their ages, the teenagers might be diverted into the juvenile system where their cases would be heard before a family court.
Wilson said police were able to find the flags when one of the teenagers turned himself in along with four of the missing flags to police in Bellows Falls. Wilson declined to say in what town the teenagers live, although he said none were from Chester.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
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