While the rest of the group has so far been granted bail, a V.I. District Court judge ruled Wednesday that the most recent co-conspirator to be arrested in the case against Planning and Natural Resources Environmental Enforcement Director Roberto Tapia would remain in jail unless additional evidence comes up to prove he’s not a flight risk.
When Hector Alcenio was arrested last month on drug trafficking, possession and conspiracy charges, the indictment against him was sealed, but an order making the document public was granted at the end of July by District Court Judge Ruth Miller. In it, Alcenio is mentioned in at least six charges, many of which discuss alleged meetings with Tapia.
During Alcenio’s detention hearing Wednesday, prosecuting attorney Kelly Lake said that Alcenio was under federal surveillance between September 2012 and May 2013 and described him as a "broker and distributor" within the operation, which so far has involved Tapia, former Police Sgt. Angelo Hill, co-conspirators Eddie Lopez-Lopez and Steven Torres from Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas residents Edwin Monsanto and Raymond Brown.
Kelly said that while Alcenio has lived in the territory for some time, his lack of ties to the community and the severity of the charges against him – Alcenio was said to have moved 15 or more kilos of cocaine on various occasions – could make him a flight risk.
While Kelly recommended that Alcenio be denied bail, Alcenio’s defense attorney said he did not hear anything in the government’s argument that tied his client to the case. Having family outside the territory also doesn’t make Alcenio a flight risk, the attorney said.
Miller, who presided over the hearing, disagreed and said that the government had made its case: there were "no conditions" under which Alcenio could be released. The government officially filed its motion to detain Alcenio pending trial last week.
Miller ruled that Alcenio would be released into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service immediately after the hearing, but told his defense camp that she would be willing to revisit the issue if additional information comes to light proving that Alcenio should not be considered a flight risk or danger to the community.
Alcenio has already pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
