Man Pleads Guilty To Charges In Two Separate Cases

St. Croix, USVI – Jahseen Simmonds, 23, pleaded guilty today in District Court on St. Croix to criminal charges filed in two separate cases, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.

In the first case, Simmonds pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of prison contraband. As part of his plea, Simmonds admitted that on August 30, 2013, Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections (BOC) officers seized two shanks or homemade knives from inside his cell at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility (Golden Grove) on St. Croix. Court records also show that on April 7, 2014, federal law enforcement officers found and seized a shank from under a mattress in Simmonds cell at Golden Grove.

In the second case, Simmonds pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm while under indictment. As part of his plea, Simmonds admitted that on January 2, 2015, while under indictment, Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) officers searched and seized from his waist area a loaded .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun in the Ruby Rouss Housing Complex.

Simmonds is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the possession of prison contraband counts, as well as for the possession of a firearm while under indictment count. Sentencing is scheduled for September 9, 2015.

This case was investigated by BOC, VIPD, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry.