Christopher Lloyd Turnbull appeared Thursday in District Court on St. Thomas where he was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands Gretchen C.F. Shappert.
Turnbull appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller.
According to the affidavit submitted in support of the complaint, Turnbull arrived at the Cyril E. King Airport on Wednesday, Nov. 11. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers directed Turnbull to secondary inspection where upon searching a black carry-on suitcase in Turnbull’s possession, which Turnbull admitted was his, they discovered approximately eight different sealed packages containing a green leafy substance that tested positive for the presence of marijuana.
The parcels had a combined field weight of approximately five kilograms, or 11 pounds.
Turnbull, who originally departed from the Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C., claimed that while he was waiting at the gate for his connecting flight in Charlotte, an unknown man approached him and offered him $15,000 to transport the black carry-on suitcase to St. Thomas. Turnbull also claimed that a friend of his (whose last name he did not know) paid for his one-way ticket to St. Thomas.
Turnbull had no accommodations reserved for his stay in St. Thomas and did not know when he would be returning.
The case is being investigated by Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.
