Yesterday November 11, 2014 in the Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Ayana Baptiste-DaBreo Kevin Greaves presented facts to show why the Crown has no right to be holding to $13,514 they had relieved him of during a drug bust back in November 2012. Photo: VINO

Nigel Registe (left) and Kevin Greaves. Photo: VINO

It was a case where the Crown had filed for permission to seize the cash which were found on Greaves when he was taken into custody and arrested.

In court he was dressed in his hot pumpkin coloured pants and calypso coloured shirt complemented by is heavy lavish ‘bling’ jewellery which caused his Attorney at Law Mr Stephen R. Daniels to apologise on his behalf to the court. Once in the witness box he told the court that he was a well-established businessman with three high priced businesses.

That was the case at the time he was arrested during the drug bust. He said he is the owner of a construction company, a restaurant and a heavy duty equipment company with equipment valued over $3ml and the day in question the cash which he was relieved of by officers of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) came from his trucking, excavation and side work.

He told the court that not all his payment were done via cash transaction and presented cheques to validate this. He said that the time of entering the Territory when arrested his intentions were to go bar hopping and to look for Latino women.

Greaves had served his 33 months sentence and is today walking free but is not prepared to have the RVIPF hold on to his cash.

The Crown had called one witness in the matter yesterday and has said that he was not aware of the volume of work Greaves did in his home of St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands nor had he any idea how much money flows through the defendant’s business on a monthly basis. He said he was not aware of any law that makes it illegal for a person to have cash to the value of $13K plus on their person.

Kevin Greaves was charged jointly with Nigel Registe, a Dominican national who was at the time residing in St Thomas, after the two were found by a patrol comprised of police and other law enforcement officers off Trunk Bay with six bricks of compressed cocaine which amounted to over 6 kilos when weighed.

The duo was also charged for failing to declare $13,514.12.

The vessel, an 18 foot go-fast boat referred to as a Donzi, was spotted, pursued and caught before an officer climbed aboard to conduct searches. On board were Greaves along with the alleged captain and owner of the vessel, Nigel Registe.

A black bag containing six blocks of cocaine was discovered under the bow during the search and the men were cautioned and charged for the offence.

Greaves pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cocaine, possession of a controlled drug and failing to declare monies to Customs; Registe denied the offences but was later found guilty on the same charges. Both men pleaded guilty to charges of illegal entry into the Territory.