A total of twenty charges were laid before the Magistrate’s Court on Monday, September 25, against Nyron Erickson of West End, Tortola, jointly charging the 31-year-old with criminal offences stemming from a major drug and firearms bust in 2021.
Erickson appeared before Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards virtually, where he was jointly charged with Jose Almestica, Jennifer Smith, Renee Smith and Shamal Smith with three counts of Possession of a Prohibited Weapon, eleven counts of Keeping a Firearm Without a License, two counts of Possession of a Controlled Drug, two counts of Possession of a Controlled Drug with Intent to Supply Another, one count of Possession of Forged Currency Notes and one count of Possession of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct.
The Crown Counsel presented a summary of the evidence during the virtual hearing, alleging Erickson’s involvement in criminal activity spanning from January 7, 2021, to December 7, 2021, while incarcerated at His Majesty’s Prison in Balsam Ghut for an unrelated matter.
According to the Crown, Erickson was linked to 14 guns, 469.76 kilograms of cocaine, 12.62 kilograms of cannabis, $551,288 in stacked cash and $42,300 in forged US currency, which were all seized following the arrest of Almestica on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.
WhatsApp data linking Nyron to Almestica
The court heard that after Almestica was arrested and taken into custody, the cell phone that was found in his possession at the time was sent abroad for analysis. The data retrieved unveiled several alleged WhatsApp conversations between Almestica and a known alias of Erickson – West Bank – between August and October 2021.
The prosecutor said police were able to confirm Erickson’s identity through a personal video that was sent from the device to Almestica, and several voice-note messages, which they said matched other voice notes found in a confiscated device which was taken from Erickson during a prison sweep in June 2021.
The seized phone from prison also underwent a forensic analysis, and the prosecutor said that 28 chats between Erickson and Almestica were found, with two allegedly discussing matters relating to the trafficking of a large quantity of cocaine, cannabis, firearms and United States currency.
A second moniker found in Almestica’s phone was also linked to Erickson, where the Crown said 16 chats were discovered, including alleged conversations with videos and images depicting trafficked drugs and firearms which the prosecution believes was sent to Erickson upon his request as confirmation of the items.
The Crown said an estimated 5000 kilograms of cocaine was discussed over the 16-week period with an estimated street value of $500 million.
Crown objected to bail
As it pertains to bail, the Crown objected to granting Erickson bail.
In addition to the serious nature of the offences, the concerns listed included the risk that Erickson may fail to surrender to custody if granted bail, worries that he will continue to commit offences and the likelihood that he may obstruct the course of justice.
My client is deserving of bail
Representing Erickson is attorney Valerie Stephens-Gordon who presented a strong argument as to why her client is deserving of bail.
She acknowledged the serious nature of the offences brought against her client but reminded the court that similar to the Smiths co-accused who are presently on bail, Erickson has no prior record known to the courts and should therefore be granted similar privileges as a first-time offender.
She also argued that all the allegations brought against her client occurred while he was incarcerated, adding that there is no evidence to show that her client had control over the items seized on December 7, 2021.
Additionally, the attorney questioned why her client was only made aware of the charges upon his return to the territory on September 20, 2023, years after the allegations were said to have been committed.
Stephens-Gordon further argued that Erikson after being cleared of money laundering charges in the United States Virgin Islands returned to the territory of his own free will, noting that he could have gone anywhere else in the world, but chose home since he was denied that freedom following his arrest more than two years ago.
The attorney said she believes an element of vindictiveness is being used against her client and told the court that there are several bail conditions that can be applied to Erickson’s case to prevent him from having to serve more time remanded at His Majesty’s Prison.
Following Stephens-Gordon’s submission, the Crown Prosecutor asked for the media’s removal from the virtual hearing to present sensitive information to further justify why Erickson should not be granted bail.
Whether Erickson will be granted bail is a decision that will be made on October 17.