Criminal Justice & Public Safety

“Nacho” De La Cruz faces conspiracy charges related to smuggling migrants across the border and procuring Vermont driver’s licenses for people living in other states.

Dozens of protesters accused state and local police of using excessive force and helping federal immigration agents facilitate the detention of three people from a house in South Burlington last month.

Two people held in Vermont prisons have died recently. Both men, held at different facilities, died after being transferred to hospitals.

Officer Jeffrey Baur pleaded not guilty on Friday to two counts of reckless endangerment. The charges stem from an incident in August where Baur shot at a car with two juveniles inside.

“Nacho” De La Cruz was paid to pick up people at the Canadian border and procure driver’s privilege cards for others, the feds allege. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday.

Two local police agencies have denied Vermont Public’s request for body camera footage from the scene of the chaotic immigration raid in South Burlington, and Vermont State Police said they need more time to review the records before releasing them.

Since the raid on March 11, all three people detained by ICE have been released and police have faced scrutiny from lawmakers over their role in the botched immigration enforcement action.

A Honduran man who was detained inside a South Burlington home told the FBI he was driving the car that ICE agents tried to stop, according to a new court filing.

State and local law enforcement officials, speaking to a panel of lawmakers on Thursday, defended their agencies’ actions during last week’s violent clash between police and protesters in South Burlington during a federal immigration enforcement action.

“I think we did what we could to keep everybody safe and that was our charge,” Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday, one week after ICE raided a home in South Burlington.