Oct. 1, 2008 — In a carefully executed transfer involving a number of agencies working alongside the Bureau of Corrections (BOC), 98 of the territory's most dangerous and "difficult to handle" prisoners boarded a plane Saturday on St. Croix, bound for Virginia.
Forty-six men were transferred to Wallens Ridge State Prison in Wise County, 47 men were transferred to Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Buchanan County, and five women were transferred to Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Fluvanna County, according to V.I. Attorney General Vincent Frazer.
Frazer and Gov. John deJongh Jr. released details of the transfer Wednesday at a news conference at Government House on St. Thomas, saying it involved the assistance of officers from the Bureau of Corrections, the V.I. National Guard, the U.S. Marshals Service, the V.I. Port Authority, the Department of Public Works and the V.I. Police Department.
All of the prisoners came from Golden Grove Correctional Facility on St. Croix, reducing the population there from 348 to 250 inmates. The transfer, which is temporary, was intended to reduce tensions and overcrowding at Golden Grove, which Frazer said is deteriorating. In addition, with fewer inmates, the pressure on corrections officers diminishes.
"The substantial reduction in the number of inmates who require constant control and supervision has allowed us to eliminate a number of posts previously manned by Bureau of Corrections officers, while simultaneously reducing the need for overtime pay," Frazer told the press.
The transfer also removed "…a poisonous enclave of criminal activity that was not only spreading throughout the prison, but also posing serious security risks to both staff and inmates," he said.
Some of the prisoners, according to Frazer, were involved in "operating enterprises" within the prison, where some guards are under suspicion of colluding with three inmates who escaped from Golden Grove last week. One was returned, another was killed and the third remains at large. (See "Corrections Officers Implicated in Inmates' Escape.")
The governor said he is working on securing a $5 million bond issue by year's end to use for improvements at Golden Grove and throughout the territory's prison system. Once improvements have been made, the transferred inmates will be cleared to return to the territory. That will be "spring to summer" of 2009, deJongh said.
The territory is able to pay for the inmates on a day-to-day basis, but the annual cost of housing the group in Virginia totals $3.4 million, Frazer said. The transfer is the first in a series of steps that will be taken toward maximizing security and safeguarding the community, he said.
The announcement of the transfer came in conjunction with news that two new leaders have been appointed to head the Bureau of Corrections, effective Wednesday. They are Julius Wilson, director, and Hillary Herman, assistant director. (See "New Chiefs Take Over at Bureau of Corrections.") In addition to new leadership at the BOC, Frazer said he has ordered the retraining of existing BOC officers, and is upgrading the surveillance system.
An alphabetical list of all the inmates transferred to Virginia:
Albert, Nicholas
Alcindor, John
Ambrose, Stacey
Anderson, Avery
Arthur, Jamal
Audain, Shawn
Bastian, John
Belardo, Joshua
Bellot, Peter
Benjamin, Ali
Benjamin, Chyka
Benjamin, Ralph
Blyden, Darryl
Boston, Kenmore
Brooks, Hakim
Brown, Clayton
Brown, Kareem
Bryan, Ottice
Burgos, Carlos
Callwood, Kevin
Carrillo, Jose
Castillo, Daniel
Charles, Francis
Charles, Nordell
Cline, Shakim
Colburne, Romal
Constant, Ozzie
Corraspe, Akeem
Cruz, Arturo
Delsol, Jahlight
Diaz, Wilfredo
Donovan, Denise
Duberry, Leslie
Edwards, Aleak
Elliott, Joseph
Etienne, Chrystalla
Fahie, Richard
Felix, Asha
Francis, Sholome
Garcia, Julio
Godett, Jermaine
Greenaway, Kirsten
Hamilton, Jahni
Harris, Pedro
Herbert, Akeem
Heywood, Billy
Hoheb, Derrick
Hughley, Frank
Issac, Jamil
Joseph, Tafari
King, Mark
Krepps, Patrick
Lans, Avery
Ledesma, Hector
Ledesma, Michael
Lettsome, Renell
Lopez, Jose Luis Jr.
Malone, Arnold
Martinez, Kwanza
Maynard, Kenrick
Mills, Aswa
Moe, Aswad
Monsanto, Eugene
Motta, Allan
Muiruri, Swaleh
Mulley, Samuel
Nanton, Nicole
Navarro, Hernan
Nicholas, Mitchell
Nunez, Jose
Ortiz, Edgardo
Pereira Jr., Hewitt
Perez, Julio
Peters, Daniel
Phillip, Sinclair
Prince, Glenford
Riley, Patrick
Rivera, Aurelio
Rivera, Raphael
Rodriquez, Angel
Romero, Thomas
Rosado, Antonio
Ruiz, Victor
Simon, Carl
Smith Jr., Leburn
Smith, Kishawn
Spencer, Sabree
Stevens, Denzil
Taylor, Edison
Teague, Rahede
Turbe, Michael
Viust, Alexander
Wattley, Lesmore
Webster, Ashielle
Williams, Ashley
Williams, Kendall
Wong, Allan
Woodfolk, Joseph
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
