Tommy Ramirez, 32, originally from the Dominican Republic and living on St. Thomas, was sentenced to 33 months in prison on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands Gretchen Shappert announced Thursday.
According to Ramirez’s plea agreement and other court documents, from January to February of 2018, Ramirez conspired with others to distribute multiple pounds of cocaine using the WhatsApp cellphone application. He operated through text messages that were seized as part of the federal investigation. The discovered text messages reportedly contained communications regarding quantity, pricing, and pictures of the to-be trafficked cocaine.
The investigation concluded Ramirez and others coordinated the delivery of between 400 and 500 grams of cocaine on St. Thomas. That is about one pound.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.