Vinton Police Officer Andrew DiCarlo has been named Officer of the Month for June. According to Vinton Police Chief Tom Foster, Officer DiCarlo responded to a trespassing complaint on Dillon Drive on June 28.

The resident reported an unwanted guest— an ex-boyfriend. The resident explained to Officer DiCarlo that the ex-boyfriend had moved his personal property from the main house into her outbuilding and locked the door without her permission.

“In order to gain entry into her own building the resident had to break the door knob with an axe,” said Foster. “During the course of an investigation several drug-related items were located in the outbuilding. In addition, Officer DiCarlo was told the ex-boyfriend is a felon, known to use drugs and carry a firearm.”

A decision was made to secure the area and apply for a search warrant. Officer DiCarlo was able to obtain the warrant and prepared an Operations Plan for the search.

“Upon returning to the residence, the search warrant was executed,” Foster said. “Several drug and drug-related items were collected from the scene. All items collected were returned to the Vinton Police Department for further analysis and investigation.

“It is exciting to see our agency’s young officers looking past the simplicity of a call, further identifying a bigger issue, and appropriately reacting to it,” said Foster. “Decision-making is a key component to the success of an officer and Officer DiCarlo showed such traits. Moreover, when officers further investigate, what we define as a small incident can turn into a bigger problem, but can be addressed. Great job!”