St. Croix Man Sentenced For Manufacturing Marijuana

ST. CROIX — Senior District Court Judge Raymond Finch sentenced on Thursday Michael Velez, 36, to three years of probation, six months of electronic monitoring, and a $500 fine on one count of manufacture of marijuana, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.

According to the plea agreement filed with the court, Velez admitted that on January 29, 2015, he was the sole resident of property located at 4-0 Catherine’s Rest, St. Croix, where U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) officers found 204 marijuana plants while executing a search warrant for the premises. According to court records, they also discovered cultivation equipment, including lights, watering mechanisms, and cloning solution.

This case was investigated by the DEA and the VIPD and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Stringer.