Police are investigating the death of a man who illegally crossed into the border town of Holland from Canada.

The incident took place on Goodall Road at around 10:30 p.m. on Monday. Police say three people were observed illegally entering the United States. When Border Patrol agents responded and encountered the men, Leos Cervantes, 45, of Aguascalientes, Mexico, collapsed. The other two men ran back toward Canada.

Border Patrol agents immediately provided first aid including CPR to Leos Cervantes. Emergency medical services were called, and Leos Cervantes was transported to North Country Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. State Police were notified of the incident at 1 a.m. and responded to the hospital to conduct a death investigation.

Car collides with school bus carrying basketball team – Police say an icy I-91 was responsible for a passenger car colliding with a school bus last night. 

Police say Logan T. Batchelder, 28, of Claremont, NH, was traveling south on I-91 at around 9:40 p.m. when he lost control of his vehicle on the ice-covered highway.

Batchelder spun out of control across both travel lanes and collided with a section of guardrail. After colliding with the guardrail, the vehicle bounced off and into the travel portion of the highway, where Paul Stagner, 55, of Springfield, was traveling in a school bus.

Police say Stagner could not avoid colliding with Batchelder due to its proximity to the initial collision. Batchelder was transported to Mt. Ascutney Hospital to treat minor injuries sustained during the collision.

Stagner was not injured during the collision and was transporting the Springfield Varsity Girls Basketball Team when this occurred. Police say the players and coaches were not transported to the hospital, but potential injuries were reported. Police say they ruled out any signs of impairment from either driver.

Two more cops banned from working in Vermont – on February 21, the Vermont Criminal Justice Council voted to permanently de-certify two former Vermont Law Enforcement Officers. The Vermont Criminal Justice Council, through its sub-committee that reviews complaints of unprofessional conduct, resolved two cases that involve domestic and family violence.

In February of 2020, the Winooski Police Department reported to the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, that former Officer Christopher Matott was alleged to have committed criminal conduct involving domestic violence laws and began an internal investigation. Simultaneously, a criminal investigation began by the Vermont State Police into the conduct. As a result of Winooski’s investigation, Matott was discharged by the Winooski Police Department in March of 2020 and is no longer working in law enforcement. 

In a separate matter, the VCJC received a report in October of 2020 from the Manchester Police Department regarding former Officer Christopher Mason who was alleged to have committed criminal conduct involving domestic violence laws. Mason resigned from the Manchester Police Department in November of 2020 and is no longer working in law enforcement. The Professional Regulation Sub-Committee reviewed both the internal investigation and the criminal investigation and again concluded the facts established violations of unprofessional conduct involving criminal conduct of domestic violence laws. 

Both former officers will have their de-certifications reported to the National Decertification Index (NDI), a nationwide registry of certification and license revocations relating to officer misconduct.

They are the third and fourth Vermont police officers decertified since September.