St. Croix Man Sentenced To 12 Months In Federal Prison For Firearm Conviction

ST. CROIX — Chief District Court Judge Wilma A. Lewis last Thursday sentenced Vonne Bailey, 24, of this island to 12 months in prison for unlawful mailing of a firearm, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Judge Lewis also sentenced Bailey to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine.

In April of this year, Bailey pleaded guilty to unlawful mailing of a firearm. As part of his plea, Bailey admitted that in May 2014, he sent his sister to the post office to pick up a package. The package, shipped from outside of the Virgin Islands, contained a Springfield Armory .40 caliber pistol, a magazine or ammunition storage device, and a Smith and Wesson AR-15 lower receiver with an obliterated serial number. Bailey claimed ownership and responsibility for the package.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rami S. Badawy and Rhonda Williams-Henry.