Bryan granted clemency to seven people, including one sentence commutation

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. granted clemency to seven people on December 15, 2023, issuing pardons to six and commuting the sentence of one, according to Government House.

Bryan commuted the four-month local sentence of Troy Patterson, 55. Government House said Patterson was arrested in 2019 and later pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking offense and to unlawful use of a utility under Virgin Islands law. He was sentenced to five years on the federal offense and four months on the local offense.

Government House said Patterson served four years in federal prison and returned to the U.S. Virgin Islands under home confinement to complete the remainder of his federal sentence. He had been scheduled to report to the Bureau of Corrections on December 21, 2023, to serve the local sentence.

The six people pardoned were Irma C. George, 69; Delano Sukuma Hunte, 70; Lisimba Kitwana, 66; Jean Greaux Gonzalez, 62; Ashwin R. Chugani, 34; and Patricio Donastorg Buncome, 28.

According to Government House, George was convicted in 1999 of embezzlement; Hunte was convicted in 1990 of possession of a controlled substance; Kitwana was convicted in 1982 of possession of an unlicensed firearm; Gonzalez was convicted in 1986 of third-degree assault; Chugani was convicted in 2014 of interfering with an officer and possession of an unlicensed firearm; and Buncome pleaded guilty in 2014 to unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-grants-clemency-to-seven-promotes-fresh-starts-and-second-chances/