News

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Chief Judge Robert A. Molloy sentenced Alfredo Bruce Smith, 53, of St. Thomas, to 35 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Upon release from prison, Smith must register as a sex offender. On September 13, 2023, Smith pleaded guilty to a 20-count indictment charging him with both federal and territorial child sexual exploitation offenses.

St. Thomas, VI - United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Lorenzo Ortis Charles, 36, of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, pleaded guilty to smuggling aliens into the United States.

St. Thomas, VI - United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that a federal grand jury retuned indictments charging Jamil Bell, 43, Peter Francis, 33, Niah Henry, 44, Anwar Lockhart, 41, and Kenson Plasimo, 43, with drug trafficking.

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that a federal jury convicted two former Virgin Islands Correctional Officers of depriving an inmate of his rights under color of law and obstruction of an FBI investigation. After an eight-day trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts against Maxwell Bryan, 53, and Elvin Bloice, 72, both Correctional Officers at the John A. Bell Correctional Facility in St. Croix at the time of offenses. Bloice was also convicted of making materially false statements to the FBI.

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Ruben Reyes, 37, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced to 120 months incarceration by Chief Judge Robert A. Molloy, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute While on Board a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States.

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Tahir Donadelle, 43, of St. Thomas, was sentenced by Chief District Judge Robert Molloy to 43 months incarceration after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Michael Nelson-Gaet, 36, of Nicaragua was sentenced to 57 months incarceration by District Judge Wilma A. Lewis after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance While on Board a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States. Judge Lewis also sentenced Nelson-Gaet to two years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Gregory Camacho, 43, of St. Croix, was sentenced by District Judge Wilma A. Lewis to nine months of home detention with electronic monitoring and four years of probation after pleading guilty to Converting Property of Another. Judge Lewis also imposed a fine of $6,000.00, a special assessment of $75, and ordered Camacho to pay $29,502.20 restitution to the National Park Service.

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that a federal jury
took less than two hours to returned guilty verdicts against Russell Robinson, 57, of St. Thomas, on
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute
cocaine. Chief District Judge Robert A. Molloy scheduled Robinson’s sentencing for July 3, 2024.
In 2007, Robinson was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine,
conspiracy to import cocaine, and money laundering and was sentenced to serve 160 months of
incarceration.

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Juan Bermudez, 65, of St. Croix, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement, aggravated rape second degree, and unlawful sexual contact second degree. If convicted, Bermudez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 to 15 years and up to life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

St. Croix, USVI – U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith announced that a Nicaraguan national, Jorge Adalberto Gutierrez-Picado, age 27, was sentenced by Judge Wilma A. Lewis on federal drug charges relating to the seizure of bulk cocaine off the coast of Colombia. On February 21, Judge Lewis sentenced Gutierrez-Picado to 70 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Chief District Judge Robert A. Molloy sentenced Pedro Juan Ramos-Ramirez, 28, and Gerald Albert Cruz, 27, both of Puerto Rico to 48 and 57 months incarceration, followed by four years of supervised release and $100 special assessment each, on their convictions for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine While on Board a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States.