June 26, 2002 – A fugitive from North Carolina was being held in jail on St. Thomas Wednesday following his arrest after he tried to pick up a shipment of chessboards stuffed with 67 pounds of marijuana.
Paul Jasen Brown, 24, of Anna's Retreat, was charged Wednesday with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Territorial Court Judge Rhys Hodge ordered that he be held without bail because he has been wanted since 1997 in Newton, North Carolina, on charges of trafficking cocaine, according to court papers.
Brown was arrested about 3 p.m. Tuesday at a U.S. Customs office, where he had gone to pick up a shipment from South Africa, according to court papers. When customs inspectors searched the box, they found that several of the wooden chessboards seemed heavy.
An X-ray of the chessboards showed rectangular packages inside several of them, and the customs inspectors later found that the packages were marijuana wrapped in plastic, according to the court records.
Officials in North Carolina want Brown to be extradited to face the charges there. Local prosecutors said they are considering whether to hold him to face federal charges here.
Brown is scheduled to enter a plea to the marijuana possession charge on July 11.
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