James Charlery, 53, was sentenced Wednesday on charges of reentry by an alien after removal and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced in a news release issued Friday.
Chief District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Charlery to 15 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered Charlery to pay a fine of $500 and a special assessment of $200.
Because an immigration detainer has been placed on him by the Department of Homeland Security, Charlery faces deportation upon completion of his sentence.
Charlery entered a guilty plea to these charges on Dec. 29 admitted that he was an illegal alien who had unlawfully reentered the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands after his deportation in 1995 to St. Lucia. He also acknowledged that on May 25, 2017, he illegally possessed a loaded firearm, a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver, at the Frontline Bar and Restaurant in Frederiksted.
The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston.
