Ultimate drug don Ivan James gets 35 years

Ivan James, 40, Joh Williams, 38, Malachi Benjamin, 28, Ariel Petersen, 28, and Jahkiebo Joseph, 26, all of St. Croix, were sentenced by District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy led by Ivan James from his Estate LaGrange compound in Frederiksted, St. Croix, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith said today.

In February, Jurors in the trial of Ivan James and Joh Williams returned not guilty verdicts for the most serious charges related to the 2017 murder of Levar Pogson on St. Croix, but the jury found James guilty of aiding and abetting the killing, and both men were convicted of drug crimes.

The trial began in U.S. District Court on St. Thomas on January 19, 2024 and went on for over a week, with U.S. Attorney Smith leading the prosecution for the high-profile case.

According to evidence introduced at trial, the investigation into the James drug trafficking organization began in January 2013 after Bureau of Corrections officers at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility seized an iPhone from then inmate Joh Williams.

A search of the cell phone seized from Williams revealed text messages related to smuggling and distribution of narcotics in the prison.