Crime

Former St. John Queen, Sentenced To More Than 2 Yrs In Prison, Promises To Steer Clear Of Criminal Activity

"From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I promise that after this rough journey in prison has concluded, I will not be involved in any illegal acts ever again." Those were the words of former St. John Festival Queen Kinia Blyden, which she wrote in court, according court documents. The former queen, who nabbed the title in 2011, was sentenced on May 10 to 26 months in prison and five years of supervision after her release. Ms. Blyden was among 11 individuals who had pleaded guilty on January 26, 2017, to a drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. According to the plea agreements filed with the court, from October 2015 through July 2016, Nilda Morton, the leader of the drug trafficking organization, supplied cocaine to Vanier Murraine utilizing Delta Airlines employees Taheeda George and Roniqua Hart. The Delta employees then used their security clearances at the Cyril E. King Airport to smuggle cocaine to Dellana Magner, Kanya Tirado, Ms. Blyden, and Jerrisha Rawlins after t...