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Press Release

Walter Hill, Jr., Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Conspiracy To Possess With Intent To Distribute Cocaine

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Virgin Islands

St. Thomas, USVI - District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced Walter Hill, Jr., 46, of St. John, VI, on October 23, 2014, to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, 10 years of supervised release, a $300 special monetary assessment, 300 hours of community service, and ordered forfeiture of property constituting the proceeds of the crime, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.

On March 27, 2014, 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. Hill was arrested as part of the investigation of Roberto Tapia, Director of the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) Division of Environmental Enforcement. On November 7, 2013, he 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.

The case was investigated by the Public Corruption Task Force, which comprises the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Virgin Islands Police Department; U.S. Marshals Service; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI); U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); United States Coast Guard; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly B. Lake.

Updated June 22, 2015