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4 The Virgin Islands Daily News VIRGIN ISLANDS Tuesday, December 13, 2016 Police say woman tried to smuggle pot into prison By BRIAN O’CONNOR Daily News Staff A Mon Bijou woman tried to sneak two bags of marijuana into Golden Grove, police said. Sherifa Petersen, 27, faces a single charge of introducing contraband into prison, and was free on $10,000 bail about six hours later, according to her arrest record. VI. police arrested Petersen on Friday afternoon about 1:47 p.m., after corrections officers discovered the marijuana hidden in the personal belongings of inmate Omari Gordon, according to Petersen’s arrest log. Rick Mullgrav, Director of the Bu- reau of Corrections, said corrections officers discovered the marijuana during a routine search. Petersen “was bringing a pack- age for her companion, and I will say her companion, because I’m not sure what the relationship was there,” Mullgrav said. “She was coming to visit, and she brought some drugs.” Corrections officers told police they had smelled marijuana in a pair of black Jordan sneakers Petersen was bringing to Gordon, according to a VIPD press release. When correc- tions officers pulled apart the sneak- ers, they discovered two small plastic bags of marijuana, according to the press release. Any material that ends up in the hands of prisoners is thoroughly searched as a matter of routine, Mull- grav said. “We search any item that goes to the inmates,” he said. “Generally speaking, it’s pretty thorough.” Gordon, 32, has been in jail since police charged him with first- degree attempted murder and first- degree assault following a Nov. 29 shooting on St. Croix, authorities have said. Gordon’s name also matches that of a man charged in 2010 with the murder of 19-year-old Kendal Wood. Gordon’s trial languished in the Su- perior Court on St. Croix for almost three years, and he was most recently granted a continuance in 2013. The disposition of the murder case involving Gordon couldn’t be immediately ascertained Monday evening. Gordon had been released on elec- tronic monitoring and house arrest pending trial in 2013, according to court documents at the time. He was being held on $500,000 bail in his most recent arrest, police said. — Contact Brian O’Connor at 340-714-9130 or email boconnor@ dailynews.vi. Federal judges from Philadelphia in the Virgin Islands to hear cases By BRIAN O’CONNOR Daily News Staff The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals will sit this week in the federal courthouse on St. Thomas. Judges Kent Jordan, Michael Cha- gares and Thomas Hardiman will hear a range of appellate cases, ranging from a local prisoner challenging his detention as unconstitutional to an es- tate battle over an inheritance in which two separate federal cases were merged into one. The judges fly in from Philadelphia to hear argument on issues they decide at a later date. Appellate court argument is based around rapid-fire questions from the empaneled judges, unlike civil or criminal court, which frequently is dominated by long exchanges between attorneys and witnesses. The appellant attorney gets four min- utes to make a case, followed by four minutes from the appellee, followed by four minutes of rebuttal from the appel- lant attorney, though judges’ questions can sometimes turn four minutes into eight. For example, Ronald Gillette, incar- cerated in 2008 on multiple counts of aggravated rape and unlawful sexual Since 1985 NATURAL FOOD Grocery & Deli Veggie Burgers » Vegan Soups « Salads + Spinach Lasagna Broccoli Quiche + Daily Vegan Platter « Organic Carrot Juice Wheat Grass Juice » Huge Deli Sandwiches Get Order To Go: | (340) 775-3737 Mandela Circle St. Thomas Why buy your vehicie from STRAKER MOTORS?...... - Friendly and honest sales staff * No high pressure sales tactics : Huge inventory of extra clean pre-owned vehicles * The most popular makes and models of Cars, SUV's, Trucks contact against two children, is seeking an appeal on a motion denying his re- lease from custody. Gillette’s attorney, Joseph DiRuzzo III, began on Monday by making his case that the motion, ordered by Chief District Court Judge Wilma Lewis, constituted a final judgement and thus was worthy of an appeal. DiRuzzo sought a three-judge panel to overturn Lewis's order. It didn’t take long for Jordan to ask a question. “How can it be a final order if there are still claims in the case, if you’re still seeking relief, which you are?” he said. DiRuzzo had a response. “The denial of a three-judge panel effectively throws Mr. Gillette out of court,” he said. He started to add to this, but Jordan cut him off. “There are claims for relief, they still exist,” he said. “I’m struggling to see how this is a final judgement.” Orders relating to the change in the reduction of a prison population essentially rely on three-judge pan- els to be valid, DiRuzzo said. Pris- on orders issued by a single judge are subject to challenge on appeal, DiRuzzo said. “IT would submit that three-judge courts are desirable in confrontations between state and federal power,” he said. Kimberly Salisbury was the Assis- tant Attorney General arguing for the appellee. Her job on Monday was to tell three federal judges that it wasn’t their job to decide Gillette’s case. “This particular order is just simply not final,” she said, at one point. However, Hardiman had a question. If there was an order short of Gil- lette’s release that could make the prison resolve the Eighth Amendment violations that put the prison under a federal consent decree for decades to resolve, Lewis or another judge could still make the determination. The pris- on has completed only 14 percent of the new consent decree ordered in 2013 according to testimony. “What would that order look like?” Hardiman asked. Salisbury struggled with an answer. Jordan tried to steer the argument back to the facts of the case. “Does the fact that a 2013 consent decree superseded and replaced the original, does it mean the three decades of prior noncompliance is to be ig- nored?” he said. ““You’re not even a fifth of the way completed. At what point is enough enough?” Complying with the consent decree will take time, Salisbury said. “According to the Bureau of Correc- tions, we're not there yet,” she said. Chagares jumped in, and compared Golden Grove Adult Correctional Fa- cility to a luxury cruise liner. “Tt’s like your big cruise ships out in the bay,” he said. “It takes a long time to turn around. But this is a really long time.” Hearings will continue today before the Third Circuit at the DeLugo Federal Building on St. Thomas at 9 a.m. An- other session is set for Thursday start- ing at 10:30 a.m. — Contact Brian O’Connor at 340-714-9130 or email boconnor@ dailynews.vi. - On the spot financing makes buying easy Caribbean Lottery Mega Millions (Dec. 9) Next draw: Tonight 19 27 47 67 68 Mega Ball: 1 Powerball (Dec. 10) Next draw: Wednesday 12 21 32 44 66 Powerball: 15 - Locally owned and operated : FREE SHIPPING TO ST. 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