ST. THOMAS — District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced on Thursday Alva Nicholas, 57, to nine months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Judge Gomez also ordered Nicholas to pay a $100 special assessment.
On November 4, 2015, Nicholas pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. According to the plea agreement filed with the court, Nicholas was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (H.S.I.) agents at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, after his arrival on American Airlines flight 2379.
Agents were conducting a screening of bags arriving at the airport when they detected an anomaly inside a suitcase bearing Nicholas’s name and flight tag. After further inspection, agents found 3.4 kilograms of marijuana wrapped in plastic inside his suitcase. The bag was then repackaged and placed on the conveyor belt. Nicholas was taken into custody after he collected the suitcase from the conveyor belt. He had previously been convicted of heroin smuggling and sentenced to 10 years’ incarceration.
This case is the result of a joint investigation by H.S.I. and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Delia Smith.
Tags: 57, Alva Nicholas, federal prison, marijuana, sentenced, st thomas, us virgin islands
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