Tag: U.S. Department of Homeland Security

FEMA Has $578,970 For USVI Organizations That Provided Food, Shelter During COVID

CHRISTIANSTED — Reimbursements of up to $578,970 are available for USVI organizations that have provided emergency food and/or shelter programs in the territory during the period of January 1, 2020, through October 31, 2021. The reimbursements are funded through the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency under the federally-funded Emergency Food and Shelter National […]

Puerto Rico Sees More Refugees Arrive By Boat Due To Haitian Political Crisis

SAN JUAN — The political turmoil and growing violence in Haiti is pushing more Haitians to take to the sea in an effort to reach Puerto Rico, where more refugees were intercepted at sea so far this year than the total over the previous two years, according to federal data. The 49 Haitians apprehended by […]

Puerto Rican Man Who Tried To Smuggle $1.1 Million Cash By Boat To The USVI Gets 3 Years In Prison

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Two Puerto Rican men who tried to smuggle at least $1 million cash into the territory by boat have been given sentences of three years and 2.5 years respectively by a federal judge. Abnel Belordo Colón, 29, and Jose Ernesto Vazquez Colón, 25, were sentenced last Thursday for possession of more than […]

Police Find A ‘Large’ Package Of Cocaine On Halfpenny Beach, 2 Suspects Nearby Get Away: VIPD

CHRISTIANSTED — Police, acting on a tip, found a “large” package of cocaine on a South Shore St. Croix beach and two men near the contraband escaped from the area, authorities said. The 911 Emergency Call Center dispatched officers to Halfpenny Beach about 7:31 a.m. Monday regarding a suspicious package that was located by a […]

3 St. Thomas Men Charged With Drug Trafficking After 15 Pounds Of Marijuana Found In Carry-On Bags

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Three St. Thomas men appeared at a preliminary hearing in federal court today to hear charges that they tried to bring 15 pounds of marijuana to the territory in three separate bags on a commercial airplane. Two criminal complaints have been filed in U.S. District Court against Kharim Moore, Trevon Richards and […]

Man Who Fled Customs Facility After Seeing His Backpack Go Through X-Ray Machine Gets 2.5 Years

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A young St. Thomas man who fled the Red Hook U.S. Customs facility when he realized that his backpack with a gun in it was about to be put through an x-ray machine got 2.5 years in prison. Javier Enrique Lima of St. Thomas was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison […]

St. Thomas Man Who Mailed Cocaine Disguised As Candy Bars Gets 1.3 Years In Prison

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man who tried to mail a pound of cocaine disguised as candy bars to the U.S. mainland last year got just over a year in prison from a federal judge, authorities said. Kemo Riley, 43, of St. Thomas was sentenced for mailing a package containing cocaine, U.S. Attorney Gretchen […]

CPB-AMO Agents Capture 3 Puerto Rican Men With $1.1 Million In Cash On Boat

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Three Puerto Rican men were caught with at least six figures in cash on board a vessel off the coast of a St. Thomas beach last night, federal authorities said. An additional $1 million in cash was found floating in the water next to the boat. Jose Ramon Pimentel-Rivera, 29, Jerry Kirkland-Marrero, […]

Two Men Nabbed By Border Patrol After $800,000 Thrown Off Boat Near Savana Island

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Federal money-laundering complaints have been filed against two men for attempting to smuggle approximately $800,000 into St. Thomas by boat, authorities said. Jose Ernesto Vazquez Colon and Abnel Belordo Colon were arrested Friday evening and made their initial appearances in federal court on Saturday in St. Thomas, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert […]

Former FEMA Employee Charged with Stealing Government Property

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert for the District of the Virgin Islands said today that Duane Woods, Jr. has been indicted for receiving stolen government property and grand larceny. According to the indictment, Woods, who worked for FEMA at the time, converted FEMA property to his own use, including a generator, phones, […]