SALT RIVER — A St. Croix man who joined a family effort to hide an accused murderer from federal authorities admitted to the lesser included charge of lying to an FBI agent in order to receive a reduced sentence.
Clintford Joseph Jr., 54, of St. Croix was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis to three months imprisonment followed by supervised release of two years, with the first month to be served on electronic monitored house arrest. He was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and $100 special assessment fee.
Joseph had pled guilty on October 13, 2020 in federal court to providing a false statement to law enforcement investigators with respect to the whereabouts of Paul Girard, Jr. a/k/a “Bogus.”
According to court documents, U.S. Magistrate Judge George Cannon issued a warrant for Girard’s arrest on Oct. 28, 2020. Joseph, Jr. knowingly made a false statement to law enforcement officers on November 5, 2020 when he told federal investigators that he was unaware Girard “was staying in the bedroom located above the garage of a residence located at 84 Clairmont, St. Croix,” where Joseph, Jr. was the caretaker.
Agents later learned that Girard had been staying in a bedroom above the garage at the Clairmont residence for over a week prior and that Joseph, Jr. in fact knew Girard was staying there when he advised the agents to the contrary. Girard was ultimately arrested at the Clairmont residence on a federal warrant for a violation of supervised release.
A network of friends and family on St. Croix hid accused murderer Girard from federal agents after prison officials mistakenly released him from custody in Puerto Rico, according to documents unsealed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.
The documents were originally filed over three years ago, but kept hidden from the public “to protect the ongoing investigation.” The docs show that Girard did not escape from federal custody — he was released and given a plane ticket home to St. Croix.
Over the course of 17 days of unexpected freedom, Girard used his free time to try to impregnate his girlfriend, acquire machine guns and plan murders , according to an affidavit filed by an FBI special agent.
The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz.