CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man who sold cocaine to an undercover DEA agent at Red Hook has been indicted on gun and drug possession charges, authorities said.
N’Kel Morton, 30, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and illegal firearm possession, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said.
According to court documents, on December 7, 2023, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
undercover agent purchased cocaine from Morton in the Red Hook area of St. Thomas.
VIPD mug shot of N’Kel Morton, 30, of St. Thomas
At the time of his arrest, Morton, who was on supervised release following his prior federal firearm conviction, was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
This case was investigated by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Virgin Islands
Police Department (VIPD). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Riley.
U.S. Attorney Smith reminds the public that an indictment is merely a formal charging document, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In October 2022, Morton was charged with attempted murder and related charges after a shootout with police after a traffic stop in St. Thomas, VIPD records show.
The incident began on October 22, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. when officers from the Special Operations Bureau were conducting an initiative, “Operation OverWatch,” on Nicholas “Nick” Friday Memorial Drive in Frydenhoj, in the area of Food Center.
Officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for excessively tinted windows when the driver, later identified as Morton, drove off and attempted to strike several officers with his vehicle, according to police.
Morton also fired a gun at the officers, who returned his fire, police said.