74.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsPolice & CourtsTwo Plead Guilty to Possession on Board a Vessel

Two Plead Guilty to Possession on Board a Vessel

The District Court building on St. Croix. (File photo)
The District Court building on St. Croix. (File photo)

Jesus Garcia, 35, and Jhoan Gomez, age 28, both of Venezuela, pled guilty Wednesday in District Court to one count of possession of a controlled substance on board a vessel, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.

This federal offense carries a possible sentence of up to 40 years in prison, a maximum fine of up to $5 million, and a term of supervised release of at least two years. Sentencing is set for Dec. 14.

According to court documents, at about 7:50 p.m. May 8, 2017, a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South Patrol Aircraft located a northbound go-fast vessel about 105 nautical miles west of Martinique. The vessel was located in a known drug-trafficking route. It contained multiple fuel barrels and suspicious packages visible on deck. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley was directed to intercept the vessel. Upon arrival, the crew of the go-fast vessel was observed tossing the suspicious packages and fuel barrels overboard.

Ultimately, the crew of the Cutter Donald Horsley recovered eight bound packages, which contained approximately 162 kilograms (357 pounds) of marijuana. The defendants were two of the 7 Venezuelan national crew onboard the GFV. Co-defendant Juan Rodriguez previously entered a guilty plea Monday. (See Related Links, below.)

The Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley is a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.