A hearing is set for Wednesday in Territorial Court on a proposed resolution of a criminal case against two Chicago residents who while visiting St. Thomas were caught fraudulently using credit cards.
The plea bargain emerged from a bail hearing scheduled Tuesday before Territorial Court Judge Ive Arlington Swan.
Shortly after convening Tuesday's proceeding, attorneys for the two defendants asked to meet with Swan and the prosecutors behind closed doors to discuss the resolution of the case.
Terms of the plea which reportedly includes restitution and fines were not disclosed in the brief court session. The case was ready to go to trial on Monday April 3, exactly three months after Norris French and Diane Gordon were arrested at the Cyril E. King Airport after a five-day shopping spree on St. Thomas.
French also goes by the name, Reggie Dean.
After about 30 minutes in closed session with Swan and Assistant Attorney General Douglas Sprotte, defense attorneys Leonard Francis for Gordon and Stephen Brusch for French, appeared satisfied with conditions of the plea bargain. Judicial sources say the settlement also involves jail time for Gordon and French.
Other sources said that in Wednesday's hearing, the two defendants will plead guilty to the charges against them. The two will likely be sentenced immediately after the change of plea is entered. Both defendants have been incarcerated since their arrest. They plead not guilty to the charges during a January arraignment.
Court documents said the two racked up a $2,000 bill at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort and rented a vehicle from Budget Rent-A-Car with bogus cards. They used 20 or more fraudulent credit cards.
The court documents further said that the two used the cards to purchase airline tickets, designer glasses, electronic items, shoes, tee shirts, and towels.
It was when they attempted to buy a $14,000 Rolex watch that they were detected by a retail clerk who alerted authorities of the possible card scam. The
scheme involved the two using blank plastic cards, embossing logos and their names on the cards and then adding real credit card numbers from unknowing
victims.
Investigators at the V.I. Justice Department have reportedly contacted
the people whose credit account numbers may have been used and urged them
to watch out for inflated bills for purchases they did not authorize. This is not the first run in with the law for the two, they were charged with a string of felony crimes in other jurisdictions according to investigators on the case.
