Jamaican National Charged With Illegal Re-Entry By A Felon

CHARLOTTE AMALIE United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Veron Venita Goulbourne, 60, a Jamaican national, has been charged with being present in the United States after removal and conviction for an aggravated felony.

If convicted, Goulbourne faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

According to court documents, Goulbourne was previously removed from the United States in March 2000, after she was convicted of an aggravated felony.

Court documents further show that on April 24, 2022, Goulbourne was a ticketed passenger on a flight from St. Thomas to Miami, Florida.

When Goulbourne presented herself at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection primary inspection point at Cyril E. King Airport, officers determined that she had no legal status in the United States having been
previously removed.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper is prosecuting the case.

United States Attorney Smith reminds the public that a criminal complaint is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt.

Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.