COLORADO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO COCAINE POSSESSION

ST. CROIX, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Kareme Holst, age 46, of Colorado, pleaded guilty in District Court before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson, III, to Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Holst’s sentencing hearing in this matter is scheduled for December 12, 2022.

According to court documents, on October 19, 2021, Holst was referred to secondary while attempting to board a flight from St. Croix’s Henry Rohlsen Airport to Miami. While in secondary inspection, Holst’s possessions, including a case of liquor, was x-rayed, and the box appeared to contain six round jars with an unknown substance. Upon further inspection of the box, officers discovered six jars of solid coconut substance, and inside each jar was a plastic bag containing a white powdered substance. A search of Holst’s suitcase also yielded an additional plastic bag containing a white powdered substance that was found in a pocket in a pair of pants. Laboratory analysis later confirmed that the white powdered substance was cocaine weighing approximately 2.7 kilograms.

For his conviction, Holst faces a term of not less than five years and not more than 40 years imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry.