BURLINGTON, VT – A man from Springfield was brought before the court on Thursday, facing charges related to drug and firearms trafficking.
According to the Justice Department in Vermont, a 20-year-old individual named Keniel Santiago, also known as “Kas,” pleaded not guilty to five charges:
- Conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine base.
- Possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
- Aiding in the unlawful acquisition of firearms from licensed firearms dealers by making false statements (three counts).
- Santiago is alleged to have committed these crimes in the Bennington, Vermont area between September 2020 and March 2021.
Santiago will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until further court appearances.
If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a mandatory sentence of five years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
In December 2021, Santiago was arrested for aiming a gun out of a vehicle window and firing a shot towards a Springfield officer. The officer returned fire and hit the car.
