In this Tuesday, May 30, 2017, photo Massachusetts State Police K-9, Maximus, searches a car for drugs with Trooper Brian Bonia, left, during a training session in Revere, Mass. During drug raids, police dogs literally follow their noses to sniff out narcotics, but now the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl could be deadly to the K-9s. Police have a new strategy for protecting their four-legged partners, by carrying Naloxone for their dog, the same drug to reverse heroin overdoses in humans. At right is Mass. State Trooper Brian Cooper. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
ST. CROIX -- United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced this week that Ladislau Concepcion, Jr., 45, of St. Croix, pleaded guilty on August 21 in federal court to carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.
According to court documents, on March 7, 2017, Concepcion was traffic-stopped near the Golden Rock McDonald’s on St. Croix. When stopped, he failed to produce a valid driver’s license, insurance, or registration for the vehicle he was operating.
Subsequently, a K-9 drug detection dog alerted for the presence of narcotics in the rear of the vehicle and a search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 172 grams of marijuana, 11 grams of crack cocaine, 10 grams of cocaine, empty vials, plastic baggies, a digital scale, scissors, and three cellular phones. A loaded Taurus .38 caliber handgun was located in the vehicle’s glove box. Concepcion, a convicted felon, did not have a license to possess the firearm, and was not permitted to possess it according to law.
Concepcion faces a mandatory minimum of five years of incarceration for the offense, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and forfeiture of the firearm and $1046.00 in cash. A sentencing date has been scheduled for December 20, 2019.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz.
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