ST. CROIX MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FIREARM POSSESSION

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Roniel Allembert, 22, of St. Croix, pleaded guilty before U. S. Magistrate Judge Emile A, Henderson, III, to Possession of a Firearm in School Zone.  Allembert’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 13, 2023, where he faces a maximum sentence of up to 5 years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents, on September 28, 2021, Virgin Islands Police Department officers discovered a fully loaded Taurus 9mm handgun in a ditch located at #21 Anna’s Hope, approximately 290 feet from the Church of God Holiness Academy. Allembert was observed at the same location but drove off at a high rate of speed when VIPD police units approach the area. Allembert later returned to the location driving slowly while looking on the side of the road where the handgun was discovered. Allembert’s DNA was later discovered on the firearm. He did not have a license to possess the firearm.

This case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel H. Huston.  The investigation is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.  Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. For more information on the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, please see: https://www.justice.gov/psn.