Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting an Illegal Alien from Tortola

St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert for the District of the Virgin Islands announced today that Ahmaud Rodriguez pleaded guilty to transporting an illegal alien. Rodriguez will be sentenced at a later date.

According to court documents filed in the case, on December 7, 2019, Rodriguez agreed to transport an illegal alien from Tortola, BVI to St. John, USVI for a cash payment. Just before 5:00 am, Rodriguez arrived in a small dinghy vessel at the St. John ferry dock in Tortola, BVI where he met his illegal passenger. Rodriguez collected his fee and made his way in to U.S. waters where he was stopped by Customs and Border Patrol agents just north of St. John.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office of the Virgin Islands. A complaint is merely a charging document, and it is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.