Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Prison Contraband

St. Croix, USVI – Rodney Stanley, 30, pleaded guilty today in District Court on St. Croix to one count of possession of prison contraband, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.

As part of his plea, Stanley admitted that on November 15, 2012, officers of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections (BOC) found a cellular telephone hidden in a mattress inside a cell solely occupied by Stanley at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility on St. Croix. Stanley was an inmate at the facility at the time. Cellular telephones are prohibited contraband in correctional facilities because they are known to be used by prisoners to intimidate witnesses, orchestrate narcotics transactions, and facilitate other criminal activity, including murders.

Stanley is facing a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. A date for sentencing has not been set.

This case was investigated by the BOC and United States Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rami S. Badawy.