District Court Judge Raymond L. Finch on Thursday sentenced Gamalier Rohlsen-Arizmendi, 24, of Puerto Rico to 63 months in prison for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
According to Sharpe, Finch also sentenced Rohlsen-Arizmendi to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a special assessment of $100.
Rohlsen-Arizmendi had pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute on July 27. According to court records, on Nov. 12, 2015, he along with other coconspirators arrived on St. Croix to retrieve a load of cocaine at sea. Law enforcement agents observed Rohlsen-Arizmendi leave St. Croix by boat on Nov. 13, 2015. At about 1:30 a.m. the next day, law enforcement tracked the same boat returning to St. Croix to Knight’s Bay Beach.
Upon arriving at the beach, they located Rohlsen-Arizmendi with two of his coconspirators in close proximity to four suitcases that contained 87 kilograms of cocaine.
All three men were charged as part of a large drug conspiracy involving 15 defendants. Seven of them have entered guilty pleas. The others are scheduled for trial on April 25.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alphonso G. Andrews Jr.
