March 29, 2001 — A V.I. Narcotic Strike Force officer accused of selling drugs and being involved in the murder of a police officer will await his federal trial in jail.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Resnick granted a motion Wednesday by federal prosecutors to hold Achille Tyson in prison until his trial. Tyson, a 10-year veteran of the NSF and district supervisor for the agency’s St. Croix office, will be held apart from other inmates because of his police background.
In granting the motion, Resnick said Tyson has a family, has no criminal record and does not pose a flight risk. However, the judge said, defense attorneys failed adequately to debunk what had been described earlier by prosecutors as Tyson's "master plan" to resort to "perjury, deceit, murder and jury tampering" if he were taken to trial.
"Further, even if the defendant had overcome such presumption, the court finds that the government has proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant poses a danger to the community," Resnick said.
Along with being indicted for allegedly peddling drugs, Tyson was implicated last week in the 1994 murder of St. Thomas police officer Steven Hodge. Federal law enforcement authorities allege that Tyson revealed his involvement in the murder through phone conversations while in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The revelations led to amended charges being brought against Tyson by federal prosecutors, who originally charged him with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.
At Tyson’s detention hearing this week on St. Croix, prosecutors alleged that the officer had a master plan designed to deflect attention from him and put it instead on the V.I. Police Department. If the plan failed, prosecutors said Tyson would turn to killing those who had tried to halt his alleged drug running, including police officials and FBI agents.
Tyson turned himself in to authorities in Florida on March 5 after learning that a warrant had been issued for his arrest on the drug charges. He was returned to the territory last week. He was reportedly getting medical treatment in Florida.
