St. Thomas, USVI - Shelica Baxter, 26, of St. Thomas, made her initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller after being charged with receiving firearms through the mail, Acting United States Attorney Joycelyn Hewlett announced. Miller released Baxter on a $10,000 unsecured bond and set Baxter’s preliminary hearing for April 12, 2017.
According to the complaint, on April 5, 2017, agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Baxter in the area of the Sugar Estate Post Office in St. Thomas after she received a package from her post office box containing two firearms.
Under federal law, if convicted of receiving firearms, Baxter faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. This case is being investigated by HSI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Everard E. Potter.
Acting United States Attorney Hewlett reminds the public that a complaint is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
