St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced that a complaint has been filed against Christopher Lloyd Turnbull, charging him with possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Turnbull made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller on Thursday, November 12, 2020.
According to the affidavit submitted in support of the complaint, upon Turnbull’s arrival to the Cyril E. King Airport on November 11, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers directed Turnbull to secondary inspection. Upon searching a black carry-on suitcase in Turnbull’s possession, which Turnbull admitted was his, CBP officers discovered approximately eight different sealed packages containing a green leafy substance that tested positive for the presence of marijuana. The parcels had a combined field weight of approximately 5 kilograms.
Turnbull, who originally departed from the Ronald Reagan airport in Washington, D.C., claimed that while he was waiting at the gate for his connecting flight in Charlotte, an unknown man approached him and offered him $15,000 to transport the black carry-on suitcase to St. Thomas. Turnbull also claimed that a friend of his (whose last name he did not know) paid for his one-way ticket to St. Thomas. Turnbull had no accommodations reserved for his stay in St. Thomas and did not know when he would be returning.
This case is being investigated by Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District 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.
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