CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A second man was convicted of transporting $2.1 million worth of cocaine across St. Thomas, authorities said.
A federal jury took less than two hours to return guilty verdicts against Russell Robinson, 57, of St. Thomas, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said today.
Robinson was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, according to U.S. Attorney Smith.
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert A. Molloy scheduled Robinson’s sentencing for July 3, 2024.
In 2007, Robinson was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine,
conspiracy to import cocaine, and money laundering and was sentenced to serve 160 months of
incarceration.
According to evidence introduced at trial, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine
Operations detected a vessel heading towards Vessup Beach in St. Thomas operating without lights.
After arriving at Vessup Beach, aviation agents observed several individuals offloading duffle bags
from the vessel to Robinson, Trevor Stephen and an individual who Stephen identified in his trial as
Ikim Blackett loading the duffle bags into Robinson’s Toyota Tundra truck.
The aviation agents provided updates on Robinson’s location to agents on the ground as he traveled from Vessup Beach to Charlotte Amalie.
Agents attempted to stop Robinson near the waterfront, but he fled at a high rate of speed towards Hull Bay and headed up a one-way road into a small residential area.
While agents set up a perimeter at the entrance of the one-way road, the aviation agents continued their surveillance of Robinson’s truck and later observed him and Stephen as they threw the duffle bags from the truck into the bushes.
Robinson then drove to the entrance of the one-way road and agents stopped his truck and arrested Robinson and Stephen.
Agents then retrieved seven duffle bags from the bushes. The duffle bags contained a total of 210 kilograms of a substance that tested positive for cocaine.
In June 2023, a federal jury convicted Stephen of possession with intent to distribute
cocaine. His sentencing is currently scheduled for March 27, 2024.
For his conviction, Robinson faces a mandatory minimum sentenced of 15 years and up to life imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO), with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Payne and Natasha Baker.