A St. Thomas man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison followed by 30 months of supervised release, for possession of an AK47 firearm with an obliterated serial number, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands announced in a release.
According to court documents, Akeem Julien, 25, was arrested after an April 8, 2020 incident which occurred while V.I. police officers were patrolling the Hospital Ground neighborhood in St. Thomas due to recent shootings. Police reportedly pursued a group of individuals, including Julien, after the group ran when officers approached. Surveillance video captured Julien and the others climbing over a railing and onto a patio with two black bags.
The surveillance video reportedly shows Julien in possession of one of the bags which he then handed to another individual. The surveillance video also shows the other person leave the patio with two bags, heading in one direction, while Julien and others left, traveling in the opposite direction. The bag Julien possessed contained an AK-47 firearm with an obliterated serial number. Julien’s DNA was reportedly recovered from the AK-47 firearm.
