According to the District Court, Deshawn Gonsalves was within 1,000 feet of the former Eulalie Rivera Elementary School (now Eulalie Rivera K-8 School), when found in possession of the firearm. Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUM
ST. CROIX — U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced Tuesday that Deshawn Gonsalves, age 27 of St. Croix was sentenced to 48 months in prison by District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis on one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
The 4-year prison sentence will be followed by 3 years of supervised release, a fine of $1,000, and a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, on October 31, 2018, officers with the Virgin Islands Police Department responded to an apparent domestic dispute and 911 call at the Lorraine Village Apartments outside of Frederiksted. Upon their interaction with Gonsalves, he admitted that he possessed a firearm and ammunition in his vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded Glock .45 caliber handgun, 2 additional magazines, 77 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, a ballistic vest, and approximately 98 grams of marijuana packaged in plastic baggies and vials.
Additionally, the defendant possessed the firearm and marijuana within 1,000 feet of the former Eulalie Rivera Elementary School (now Eulalie Rivera K-8 School). Gonsalves was previously convicted in Superior Court in 2014 of unauthorized possession of a firearm.
The case was investigated by the V.I.P.D. and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. For more information on the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, please see: https://www.justice.gov/psn.
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