Jorge Humberto Moreno Martinez, a 34-year-old Venezuelan national, has been charged with unlawfully being in the United States after previously being removed by immigration officials. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced the charge.
On January 28, 2025, Moreno appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle, who ordered his detention while the case is pending.
Court records indicate that Moreno was deported from the United States on November 15, 2016, following a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a felony burglary conviction in New York. At that time, he was informed and acknowledged that his criminal history barred him from re-entering the U.S. Despite this warning, Moreno returned to the country unlawfully.
The records further reveal that on January 27, 2025, Department of Homeland Security agents attempted to arrest Moreno in Williston, Vermont. He fled in a vehicle, colliding with three law enforcement vehicles and reaching speeds over 100 miles per hour before being apprehended. During the chase, items discarded from his vehicle were recovered and tested positive for cocaine base and cocaine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stresses that these are allegations and that Moreno is presumed innocent until proven guilty. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison; however, sentencing will be determined by the District Court according to advisory guidelines and statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher praised the efforts of several divisions within the Department of Homeland Security—Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—as well as assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Owyang is prosecuting the case while Brooks McArthur represents Moreno.