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Convicts Face Legal Action for Contraband

Two inmates at Golden Grove Adult Correctional Institution faced recent legal action for possessing contraband in their cells, U.S. Attorney Ronald Sharpe announced Tuesday.

Gregorie George of St. Thomas was convicted by a federal jury after a three-day trial on two counts of possession of prison contraband and one count of promoting prison contraband. Sharpe’s Tuesday news release did not specify when the trial took place.

In a separate case, District Court Judge Raymond Finch sentenced Golden Grove prisoner Avery Monsanto, age 51, to four months in prison for possession of prison contraband.

The top count in George’s case carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He remains incarcerated pending sentencing, according to Sharpe.

No sentencing date had been set as of the announcement.

Evidence presented at George’s trial established that on June 14, 2013, George was an inmate at Golden Grove when he was found to be in possession of a cellular phone and a homemade weapon commonly referred to as a shank. Both prohibited items were found inside his cell by Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections Officers, officials said.

Sharpe said contraband in prison threatens the safety and security of inmates, employees, and the community as whole. Inmates in possession of cellular telephones present a "particularly sinister threat" as they can be used to facilitate criminal activity including narcotics distribution and murder, Sharpe said.

Sharpe commended the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshal, and the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rami S. Badawy and Everard Potter, who prosecuted it.

Monsanto, received an additional four months in prison, to be served consecutively to the sentence Monsanto was serving at the time of the offense, Sharpe said.

Finch also sentenced Monsanto to one year of supervised release.

Monsanto entered a guilty plea to possession of prison contraband on Aug. 6. The offense stemmed from an April 7 search of Monsanto’s prison cell while he was an inmate at Golden Grove. Law enforcement officers discovered and seized three cellular telephones in a cell solely occupied by Monsanto.

Cellular telephones are prohibited contraband in correctional facilities because they are known to be used by prisoners to intimidate witnesses, orchestrate narcotics transactions, and to facilitate other criminal activity, including murders, Sharpe said.

The case was investigated by the V.I. Bureau of Corrections Gang Intelligence Search Team and the DEA. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Everard Potter and Rami Badawy.

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