St. Croix, USVI – United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that Clintford Joseph, Jr. age 54, of St. Croix, was sentenced on December 3, 2021, by District Court Jude Wilma A. Lewis to three months imprisonment followed by supervised release of two years, with the first month to be served on electronic monitored house arrest. He was also ordered to pay a $1500 fine and a $100 special assessment fee. Joseph, Jr. had pled guilty on October 13, 2020, in federal court to Providing a False Statement to law enforcement investigators with respect to the whereabouts of Paul Girard, Jr. a/k/a “Bogus”.
According to court documents, U.S. Magistrate Judge George Cannon issued a warrant for Girard’s arrest on Oct. 28, 2020. Joseph, Jr. knowingly made a false statement to law enforcement officers on November 5, 2020, when he told federal investigators that he was unaware Girard “was staying in the bedroom located above the garage of a residence located at 84 Clairmont, St. Croix,” where Joseph, Jr. was the caretaker.
Agents later learned that Girard had been staying in a bedroom above the garage at the Clairmont residence for over a week prior and that Joseph, Jr. in fact knew Girard was staying there when he advised the agents to the contrary. Girard was ultimately arrested at the Clairmont residence on a federal warrant for a violation of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz.
