A convicted felon who was expelled from the United States after serving a prison term in Florida was back in court this week on St. Thomas, this time charged with illegal re-entry. Prosecutors said the defendant used a fake passport in September 2023 in an attempt to board a flight to Miami from the Cyril E. King Airport.
An agent for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations bureau said defendant Brenard Junior Shaw arrived at the airport after traveling from Jamaica to Tortola, then from Tortola to St. Thomas on Sept. 11, 2023.
“When he arrived on St. Thomas, he called a friend who purchased a plane ticket for him to come to Miami, Florida,” said HSI Special Agent Christopher Lobdell.
Court documents say Shaw presented a Bahamas passport with the name Marvin Barthman Cartwright and was referred for further inspection, including fingerprinting. The test revealed the prints belonged to Bernard Junior Shaw — a registered immigrant with the first name misspelled.
The identity also produced a criminal record from Florida, where Shaw was convicted of kidnapping with a deadly weapon or aggravated battery and burglary. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Dec. 16, 2011; he was ordered to leave the U.S. by an immigration judge in August 2022.
“Shaw admitted he had been previously deported,” court records said. The defendant appeared at an arraignment hearing in District Court on Wednesday. Further proceedings are expected.
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Two men who entered guilty pleas in separate drug trafficking cases met their fate at sentencings held Thursday in District Court.
Johny Arias Rodriguez was arrested along with two others in late December 2021 after they were apprehended on board a vessel hauling 75 kilograms of cocaine. In an affidavit filed with the court, an agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency – HIDTA Task Force said the speedboat carrying Rodriguez and his companions was spotted traveling after dark without running lights off St. Thomas’ Northside.
The defendant later pleaded guilty to a single count of drug trafficking conspiracy. Chief District Judge Robert Molloy ordered Rodriguez, 28, to serve four years and 9 months in prison for his offense, followed by three years of supervised release.
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And the lawyer representing defendant Washington Campaz Rebolledo told the court her client said he was lucky to be rescued from a capsized boat by the U.S. Coast Guard on Dec. 16, 2021. Court records said when the distressed vessel was spotted there were four people clinging to it and packages floating around in the water.
An agent for the DEA/HIDTA Task Force said they were on patrol at the time, off the coast of Colombia, in an area known for drug trafficking activity. After the people and the packages were recovered, agents inspected the contents of the packages and found a massive quantity of drugs.
The crew and the contraband were handed over to authorities in Miami. They were prosecuted in the Virgin Islands District Court — the nearest court from the point of apprehension.
Campaz Rebolledo entered a guilty plea on the charge of drug trafficking conspiracy while on a vessel in U.S. jurisdictional waters.
“This case involves over 3,000 lbs. of marijuana and over 1,000 lbs. of cocaine,” said Assistant Attorney General Everard Potter.
A few moments before hearing his sentence, Campaz Rebolledo said that work in Colombia was hard to find and poverty led to a life where the daily meal was often a serving of rice twice a day.
“I regret everything I have done. I know what I did was not correct; I did it from necessity. I was looking for a better life for my family and look what I have gotten myself into,” the defendant said.
The prosecutor added there are people who take risks by getting into the drug trade because they are impoverished.
“That is never justification,” Potter said.
Judge Robert Molloy sentenced the defendant to 70 months in federal prison.
