Jamaican National Arrested in St. Thomas for Illegal Reentry

St. Thomas, USVI- Ewart Henry, 71, of Jamaica, made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller after being charged in a criminal complaint with illegal reentry, Acting United States Attorney Joycelyn Hewlett announced. Henry was detained pending further proceedings. Preliminary and detention hearings are set for April 25, 2017.

According to the criminal complaint, on April 21, 2017, Henry presented himself at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) primary inspection checkpoint at the Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Henry was a ticketed passenger on an outbound American Airlines flight to Connecticut. He provided a Connecticut state ID card and was unable to provide further documentation of citizenship. CBP secondary inspection discovered that Henry is a Jamaican national and was previously deported in 2008. Henry had not obtained permission to reenter the United States.

Under federal law, if convicted of illegal reentry, Henry faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The case is being investigated by CBP and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.

Acting United States Attorney Hewlett reminds the public that a criminal complaint is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.