U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Thomas sentenced Walter Hill Jr., 46, of St. John, to a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
His sentence is dramatically more severe than the sentences given to some of his co-conspirators, including Hill’s cousin, former former Police Sgt. Angelo Hill, who corruptly used his badge, gun and uniform as a police officer to smuggle cocaine, yet received a sentence of less than two years in prison. Or corrupt former police officer and Department of Planning and former Natural Resources Chief Environmental Enforcement Officer Roberto Tapia, who received a sentence of less than six years. Court documents indicate the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency suspected Tapia of using his badge and gun to smuggle cocaine since the late 1990s. (See Related Links below)
On Nov. 7, 2013, Hill was charged in a 69-count third superseding indictment, along with Tapia, Angelo Hill, Stephen Torres, Eddie Lopez-Lopez, Raymond Brown, Hector Alcenio, Angel L. Negron-Beltran and Edwin Monsanto.
On March 27, a federal jury convicted Hill of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and use of a communication facility, namely a telephone, to facilitate a drug crime.
