Two St. Thomian Men Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison For Illegally Possessing Firearms

St. Thomas, USVI – Acting U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that two St. Thomian
men, Romeo Walter, 42, and Kenan Thomas, 38, were both sentenced on Thursday, May 29, 2025,
by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy to 15 years imprisonment for illegally
possessing four firearms on April 8, 2020. The sentences follow a 4-day jury trial after which a
federal jury found both men guilty of possessing firearms as felons, in violation of federal law, and
unauthorized possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of territorial law.
 

According to court documents, on April 8, 2020, at around 2:00 p.m., Virgin Islands Police
Department (VIPD) officers were patrolling the Hospital Ground neighborhood in St. Thomas due
to recent shootings, including a homicide near the area earlier the same day. VIPD officers entered
the Jah Yard area and pursued a group of individuals that included Walter and Thomas, after the
group ran as officers approached. Surveillance video captured a group of four males, including
Walter and Thomas, climbing over a railing and onto the patio of a neighborhood home with two
black bags. The surveillance video showed Thomas passing a handgun from his waist to codefendant
Akeem Julien, who then placed the gun into a black duffle bag. The surveillance video
further showed defendant Thomas leaving the patio with two bags, heading in one direction, while
Julien and Walter left in the opposite direction. A fourth co-defendant, Nijontea Walker, left shortly
after the other three. VIPD officers chased Thomas to a small house in Jah Yard. Thomas was
arrested and the two bags were seized. One bag contained an AK-47 firearm with an obliterated
serial number; a Glock 20, 10 mm handgun; and a Glock 21, .45 caliber handgun. A black backpack
contained an AR-15 firearm. VIPD officers also seized over 250 rounds of ammunition from the
bags. Each firearm was loaded with numerous rounds of ammunition. Walter, Julien, and Walker
were all identified by the surveillance video.
Judge Malloy sentenced Romeo Walter to 71 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of
supervised release, on the federal conviction, and 15 years in prison on the territorial conviction, to
be served concurrently.
 

Judge Malloy sentenced Kenan Thomas to 120 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised
release on the federal conviction, and 15 years in prison on the territorial conviction, to be served
concurrently.

Co-defendant Akeem Julien pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number
and was sentenced to 30 months in prison on November 21, 2024.
 

Co-defendant Nijontea Walker pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial
number and was sentenced to 30 months in prison on September 19, 2023.
 

The investigation was conducted by the VIPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (ATF), with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Kyle Payne and Natasha Baker prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office
for the District of the Virgin Islands.
 

This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten
the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional
information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
 

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