Vermont’s law enforcement community has a new tool for seeking dangerous fugitives in the state.
Since Oct. 1, the Vermont Violent Offender Task Force has apprehended about 30 suspects for crimes as varied as a 2001 murder in Florida to a series of sex crimes in Maryland.
The task force is made up of about 10 deputy U.S. Marshals working out of Rutland and Burlington, a state trooper and, when the University of Vermont is not in session, a UVM officer.
Last week the task force apprehended Philip Barr in Hardwick. He’s charged with killing a 19-year-old woman in Punta Gorda, Fla.
Deputy U.S. Marshal John Curtis says the task force seeks to apprehend what he calls the "worst of the worst," violent criminals and dangerous sex offenders.