St. Thomas, USVI - Virgin Islands Police officer Angelo Hill was arrested Friday by federal agents and
charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine as part of the investigation of Roberto
Tapia, Director of the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) Division of
Environmental Enforcement.
The arrest was announced by United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands Ronald
W. Sharpe; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent-in-Charge Vito Guarino;
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases; Internal Revenue Service
Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Michael J. DePalma; United
States Marshal for the District of the Virgin Islands Cheryl Jacobs; Virgin Islands Police Commissioner
Rodney Querrard; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Special
Agent-in-Charge Marcelino Borges; United States Coast Guard Captain Drew Pearson; the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent-in-Charge Hugo Barrera; Virgin Islands
Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) Fusion Center Director Wayne Bryan; and Virgin Islands Office of Inspector General Steven van Beverhoudt.
Hill made his initial appearance in District Court today on St. Thomas before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Ruth Miller, and was ordered held without bail pending a detention hearing May 28. Tapia was
arrested May 17, and two other defendants were arrested May 18 as part of the drug conspiracy
investigation.
If convicted, Hill faces a statutory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. This case is being
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kim R. Lindquist and Kelly B. Lake, and is being
investigated by the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-CI, VIPD, HSI, CBP, U.S. Coast Guard, ATF,
and the Public Corruption Task Force.
The public is reminded that a criminal complaint is merely a charging document and is not
evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
