Nathalie Lopez, a 32-year-old woman from Puerto Rico, was sentenced in District Count on one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute onboard an aircraft, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced in a news release issued Tuesday.
Judge Wilma A. Lewis sentenced Lopez to two and a half years of federal probation with a required 100 hours of community service and imposed a fine of $2,000 and a special assessment of $100.
According to court documents, on February 17, 2017, Nathalie Lopez traveled on American Airlines flight No. 1293 from Miami, Florida, to St. Croix via the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport. Lopez checked one box on this flight containing five separate vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana weighing approximately 4.5 kilograms. Once Lopez arrived on St. Croix her co- conspirator, Gibbs Bully, retrieved the box containing the marijuana from the baggage carousel, and was immediately detained by Customs and Border Protection officers.
Gibbs Bully previously pled guilty to the charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and on March 14, 2019, was sentenced to a prison term of 18 months, to be followed by a four-year period of supervised release and a fine of $4,000.
The Virgin Islands Port Authority, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. The DEA Southeast Crime Laboratory in Miami analyzed the marijuana. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston prosecuted the case.
