Governor Daniel Pruce has approved deportation orders for two men convicted in separate firearm-related incidents in the Virgin Islands. The decisions, dated March 8th, were published in an extraordinary edition of the Gazette on March 13th.
The men facing removal from the Territory are Roget Antoneil Simmon and Paige Shere Chan Weeks.
Simmon was arrested in March 2021 and subsequently convicted of carrying a firearm without a license contrary to the Firearms and Air Guns Act, giving false name and address contrary to the Criminal Code, and illegal entry contrary to the Immigration and Passport Act.
Meanwhile, Weeks was arrested in 2020 and convicted in June 2021 of keeping an unlicensed firearm contrary to the Firearms and Air Guns Act and possession of a controlled drug contrary to the Drug Prevention of Misuse Act.
In both cases, the Governor determined that their continued presence in the Virgin Islands would be “undesirable and not conducive to the public good” after consulting with the Chief Immigration Officer.
The deportation orders stipulate that Simmon and Weeks must be placed on the first available outbound ship or aircraft leaving the Territory. They will remain detained until their departure.
However, the men have a seven-day window to submit written appeals against the deportation decisions directly to the Governor.