ST. THOMAS — United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced Monday that Idesha Sterrod pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

According to court documents, on August 5, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Cyril E. King Airport were conducting inspections of incoming luggage and discovered a suitcase with packages containing a green leafy substance inside. The suitcase arrived on an American Airlines flight from Miami. The suitcase was placed back on the luggage belt and officers allowed it to be retrieved in the baggage section of the airport. Sterrod, along with three unrelated minor children traveling with her, retrieved a total of seven suitcases, including the one inspected.

Officers inspected all seven suitcases with which the defendant was traveling. All contained vacuum sealed bags of a green leafy substance, which tested positive for the characteristics of marijuana and had a total weight of 76 kilograms.

Sterrod will be sentenced at a later date by Chief Judge Robert A. Molloy and faces a maximum term of not more than 20 years imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a maximum $250,000.00 fine.

The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Inspection, investigated the case.

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