St. Thomas, USVI - After a one-day trial, on October 4, 2016, a federal jury on St. Thomas convicted Tomas Liriano Castillo, 44, of Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver and Illegal Entry, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
Castillo faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison on the conspiracy and possession with intent charges, and six months in prison for the illegal entry charge. District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez remanded Castillo to the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing on Feb. 2, 2017.
Evidence presented at trial established that on or about May 9, 2016, Castillo traveled by boat from Tortola to Hull Bay, St. Thomas. The evidence at trial also showed that Castillo got off the boat with a back pack that he tried to discard when he saw agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration approaching him. Testimony at trial further established that when the back pack was recovered, it contained approximately 5.8 kilograms of cocaine, and that Castillo is not in the Virgin Islands lawfully.
The case was investigated by the DEA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sigrid Tejo-Sprotte and Everard Potter.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
