Two men being held in the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges filed after they were allegedly found with cellphones while in prison. The two defendants – Jahmar Lewis and Akenda Weeks — were in pretrial detention at the time of their October arrests.
Lewis and Weeks, along with defendant Junior Marcelo Garcia, are awaiting trial for the Dec. 4, 2021, armed robbery of Glitters Jewelry Store on St. Thomas and the murder of Glitters customer Georgiana Juliana. Lewis and Weeks were charged as adults in March 2022 after Juliana died of injuries suffered in the December robbery.
A fourth defendant — Michiah Cozier — was arrested shortly after the robbery and pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Cozier was 18 at the time of his arrest; Weeks, Lewis and Garcia were under 18 at the time.
Lewis and Weeks appeared before Superior Court Magistrate Judge Ernest Morris Oct. 18 and pleaded not guilty to new charges of promoting prison contraband.
Documents filed in court said the cellphones were discovered in two separate incidents; the discovery involving Lewis was made July 16 while the cellphone found with Weeks occurred on July 12. Both were inmates at John Bell Correctional Facility on St. Croix at the time.
The formal complaint charging the two was filed several weeks after the discoveries. No further hearings have been scheduled on the contraband charges so far. The maximum penalty under Title 33, V.I.C. Sec. 665 is five years in prison.
The maximum penalty for charges filed in the Glitters robbery is life in prison. Lewis, Weeks and Garcia were scheduled to stand trial in late August, but the date was postponed pending further pretrial hearings.
