CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Croix man who carjacked and robbed a couple at gunpoint on the north shore got 13.6 years in prison from a federal judge, authorities said.
Chriss Cepeda, 25, of Estate Profit, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis and was sentenced January 20, 2022 on the federal charges of using a firearm during a violent crime and carjacking, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said today.
Judge Lewis sentenced Cepeda to seven years imprisonment on the using a firearm during a violent crime charge, followed by a consecutive 80 month sentence on the carjacking charge, for a total of 164 months in prison, with credit for time served. In addition, the defendant must serve a term of three years supervised release, pay a $1,000 fine, a $200 special assessment fee, and restitution to the victims.
According to court documents, in the early morning hours of September 10, 2017, Cepeda, along with two co-defendants, broke into a couple’s home in Estate Rust Op Twist, on the North Shore of St. Croix, while brandishing a firearm. The defendants physically assaulted the male victim and threatened to kill the couple while demanding money.
The defendants forced the couple at gunpoint into the rear seat of their Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck and drove to the location where the male victim had left his wallet.
After obtaining the wallet, the defendants fled in the pick-up truck and a Jeep Wrangler. In addition to the vehicles, defendants stole $200 in currency, two iPhones valued at $600 each, and an iPad valued at $200.
The Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Huston prosecuted the case.