FREDERIKSTED — A Florida woman was given no prison time by a federal judge for smuggling 15 pounds of marijuana into St. Croix. Yvette Simeina, 41, of Orlando, was sentenced to two years of probation and a $1,000 fine for attempting to smuggle 6.6 kilograms of marijuana through the Henry

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced that Tyrone Ortiz, 37, of Rex, Georgia, appeared before Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller yesterday for an advice of rights hearing following his arrest for possession of three firearms with obliterated serial numbers. According to Court records, on March 10, 2022, U.S.

CHRISTIANSTED — A Georgia man with ties to St. Croix got one month in prison for every pound of marijuana he brought to the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport last year. U.S. District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis today sentenced Ra’Kheel Velasquez to four months in prison for possession of a

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A New York man who claimed a stranger offered him $15,000 to take 11 pounds of marijuana from Washington D.C. to St. Thomas has pleaded guilty to drug smuggling. Christopher Lloyd Turnbull, of New York City, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to possession with intent

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — One of three Dominicans involved in a shootout with feds in Haulover Bay on St. John has cut a plea deal with authorities in order to avoid a possible life sentence in prison. Joan Morales Nolasco, a citizen of Santo Domingo, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A Puerto Rican man who came to St. Thomas with more than $300,000 in cold cash stuffed into the cooler on his boat got less than one year in prison from a federal judge. Blas Sebastian Panzardi Davila, 38, of San Juan, was sentenced by U.S. District

CHRISTIANSTED — A federal joint task force including U.S. Customs agents seized more than $20 million worth of cocaine after it intercepted a smuggling speedboat near St. Croix this weekend. “Transnational criminal organizations take aim at diverse routes to move their illicit contraband,” indicated Augusto Reyes, Director of the Caribbean

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Three Colombian nationals were arrested on December 31, 2021, at the Cyril E. King Airport on criminal charges related to their alleged improper entry into the United States and use of fraudulent visas. According to court documents, Oscar David Mira Aristizabal, 49, Alexander Lopera Castaneda, 31, and

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man who smuggled 14 pounds of marijuana into St. Croix was given just over a half year in prison, authorities said. Jahvar Looby, 31, of Hospital Ground, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Wilma A Lewis and was sentenced Wednesday on the charge of

FREDERIKSTED — A Colombian national remembered to bring ecstasy and Ketamine with him to the St. Croix airport — but not his passport, authorities said. Andres Bejarano, 33, of Bogata, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge George W. Cannon, Jr. for an initial hearing on criminal charges related to his