By:JOHN MCCARTHY
CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Kitts native who was staring down a sentence of 10 years hard time — was able to strike a bargain with federal authorities — and got six years taken off.
Alvin Henry, 41, of St. Thomas, was sentenced to four years in prison in U.S. District Court in Golden Rock after a jury trial conviction on one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
The jury trial concluded on March 5, 2019. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Wilma Lewis sentenced Henry to a federal prison term of 48 months, followed by three years of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, a $2,500 fine, and a $200 total special assessment.
According to trial testimony, on November 2, 2016, a Customs and Border Protection K-9 officer entered the pre-departure area at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix to randomly inspect departing passengers.
When the K-9 officer approached, Henry nervously stood up and took his bag off the floor. When they noticed this suspicious behavior, CBP officers asked if they could look into his bags.
Henry consented and officers found 10 duct-taped bricks of cocaine powder in Henry’s bags. Further investigation revealed that Henry was part of a scheme to transport cocaine from St. Croix to Florida, and had met with an airport employee in the bathroom of the departure area.
The airport employee delivered the cocaine bricks to Henry in the bathroom.
Henry had planned to board the American Airlines flight to Miami with the cocaine in his carry-on luggage.
Laboratory analysis confirmed the substance was cocaine hydrochloride (cocaine powder) with a net weight of 5,132.4 grams, or at least five kilograms. The case was investigated by Customs and Boarder Protection and Homeland Security Investigations.
After Henry’s conviction last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office issued a press release saying that he was facing a minimum 10-year sentence in prison.
On social media. Henry said that he is a native of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Southeast Laboratory in Miami analyzed the cocaine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.