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ST. CROIX -- Dequan Forde, 22, of St. Croix, was sentenced on November 13 in District Court to one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert has announced.
Chief Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Forde to eight months incarceration with credit for time served, three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, on January 31, 2018, Forde traveled on American Airlines flight 2317 from Miami, Florida to St. Croix. Upon landing at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, an x-ray examination of Forde’s luggage displayed unusual packaging. A physical examination of the luggage revealed a laundry bag that contained two vacuumedsealed bags containing suspected marijuana. The luggage was placed on the baggage carousel where Forde retrieved it. The total gross weight of the marijuana was approximately 9.40 kilograms, or approximately 20 pounds.
The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Port Authority Police, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations. The marijuana was analyzed by the DEA Southeast Laboratory in Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.
