A’keem Stanley, a 24-year-old resident of St. Croix, appeared before Magistrate Judge George W. Cannon in District Court and entered a guilty plea to the charge of aiding and abetting possession of firearm by person under indictment, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced in a news release issued Thursday.
This offense carries a possible sentence of incarceration of as long as five years, a maximum fine of $250,000 dollars, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. Sentencing is set for June 18.
According to court documents, on Nov. 4, 2016, Ameade Williams was charged by information with felony offenses in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. On May 23, 2018, the Superior Court entered an order releasing Williams into the custody of A’keem Stanley and required that they reside at 4E Two Williams, Frederiksted, St. Croix. On May 25, 2018, Stanley signed a document acknowledging his consent and obligation to monitor Williams’ compliance with his terms of release as a third-party custodian.
During a search of 4E Two Williams on Sept. 11, 2018, while the charges were still pending against Williams, police seized a Kel-Tech pistol from the living room and a Taurus 9mm pistol in a bedroom where Stanley was located. The Kel-Tech firearm contained a magazine with 29 live rounds of ammunition. According to court documents, Williams, who was present, stated that the firearms belonged to him and that other persons had nothing to with the firearms.
During a post-arrest interview, Stanley told police that he had made the arrangements to acquire possession of 4E Two Williams and that he observed the firearms being brought into the residence two weeks earlier. However, Stanley did not report Williams’ possession of the firearm to appropriate officials, thus permitting Williams’ possession to remain undetected by law enforcement. Both firearms were manufactured outside of the United States Virgin Islands.
The case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.
