District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez on Thursday sentenced two men – 23-year-old D’Mari Heyliger and 26-year-old Dwayne Fahie – in separate cases involving firearm charges, U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.
Heyliger, 23, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his federal conviction of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and 15 months in prison for possession of an unlicensed firearm under local law, Sharpe said. Gomez also sentenced Heyliger to serve three years of supervised release, perform 300 hours of community service, pay a fine of $5,000 and pay a $100 special assessment.
According to Sharpe’s news release, Heyliger pleaded guilty on Aug. 31 pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
According to the plea agreement filed with the court, on Dec. 20 , 2013, a federal search warrant was executed on the defendant’s residence in St. Thomas. During the execution of the search warrant, two firearms with obliterated serial numbers were found in the defendant’s bedroom. Since the firearms had obliterated serial numbers, the firearms cannot be lawfully registered and therefore Heyliger did not have the authority to possess those firearms in the Virgin Islands.
Gomez sentenced Fahie to 17 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Sharpe said. Gomez also sentenced Fahie to serve three years of supervised release, perform 300 hours of community service and pay a $100 special assessment.
Fahie pleaded guilty on Aug. 21 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the plea agreement filed with the court, on April 24 V.I. Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop for illegal tint on a vehicle in which Fahie was the passenger. During the stop, Fahie fled from the car, fell and exposed the handle of a firearm. The officers recovered a Glock 9mm firearm. In 2013 Fahie had been convicted in Superior Court om a charge of reckless endangerment, a felony, and as a convicted felon and is not authorized to possess a firearm.
Both cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Fahie’s case was also investigated by the VIPD. Both were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.
