St. Croix, USVI - United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that Armando Antonio Mena of Phoenix, Arizona was arrested June 12, 2020 and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance With the Intent to Distribute.
According to court documents, Mena, age 28, was traveling to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands from San Francisco, California via airline on May 27, 2020 with a checked bag that contained 22 individually wrapped vacuum sealed bags under articles of clothing. The vacuum wrapped bags contained a green leafy substance which tested positive for marijuana and which weighed approximately 10.78 kilograms.
An initial appearance in federal court occurred on June 12, 2020, followed by preliminary and release hearings on June 15, 2020.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz.
United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert reminds the public that a criminal 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
