St. Thomas, USVI - Wayne Smith was sentenced today on his conviction for causing a firearm to be present in a federal facility, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.
Smith previously plead guilty to the charge on June 24, 2020. In his plea agreement, he admitted that, on March 21, 2020, at the Cyril E. King airport, he was a ticketed passenger on a Jet Blue Airline flight and checked luggage in his son’s name that contained a Ruger LCP pistol and an ammunition magazine. Although he was aware that the luggage contained the firearm and ammunition magazine, he did not notify Jet Blue Airlines or the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) that the luggage contained a firearm. The Transportation Security Administration discovered the firearm at the federal security checkpoint.
District Court Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller sentenced Smith to an 18 month term of probation and a $5,000 fine.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and the Transportation Security Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Sleeper.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
