Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Sep 26, 2025

Police still probing Almestica! Detention order on $541K extended

Police still probing Almestica! Detention order on $541K extended

The detention order for the cash seized at the home of Jose Almestica back in December was extended when the matter was recalled before the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

More than $541,000 was recovered during a police operation at the Ballast Bay apartment at the time. The money was recovered with several high powered, illegal and prohibited weapons, thousands of ammunition, a large number of counterfeit notes, cocaine and marijuana.

The detention order for the money was already in effect from December 16 but it will expire on March 16, and investigations in the case are still ongoing. As a result, Magistrate Tamia Richards extended the detention order until June 16, while the police continues their probe into Almestica’s arrest and the subsequent seizure of the illicit items.

Magistrate Richards said $541,000 is no small change and the police would need time to fully investigate the matter. She added that it was within reason to assume the money is important to the investigation, hence the reason for detention.

Update on Case Disclosure


Almestica and his other three co-accused Jennifer Smith and siblings Renee and Shamal Smith appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday for an update on whether the prosecution had provided the defence counsels with all the relevant case files to move ahead with proceedings to commit the matter to the High Court. This process is known as ‘paper committal’.

The prosecution had indicated it had disclosed all the documents to the defence but said there were some things outstanding that would be disclosed once they become available.

The lawyer for Almestica, Ruthilia Maximea objected and said she needed to have all the documents disclosed before a date was set for the paper committal. This was so she could receive proper instructions from her client.

However, Magistrate Richards said the prosecution had indicated it would take four to six weeks to be obtained. She also said in any trial new evidence can come up and this should not hinder the procession of the matter.

The senior magistrate also noted the case would be tried in the High Court and all she has responsibility for is to decide if there is a case to be answered to by the accused.

The matter was adjourned until April 27, 2022, for the paper committal and an update on disclosure of the outstanding documents as indicated by the prosecution.

Charges


Almestica — who was one of the most wanted men in the Virgin Islands — was charged with 11 counts of keeping an unlicensed firearm, four counts of keeping a prohibited weapon, one count of carrying an unlicensed firearm, eight counts of unlawful possession of ammunition, and four counts of possession of a controlled drug with an intent to supply. He was also charged with escaping lawful custody. Before his capture last year, he was found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm along with three others.

Meanwhile, the remaining trio of Jennifer, Renee and Shamal were charged with 11 counts of keeping an unlicensed firearm, three counts of keeping a prohibited weapon, seven counts of unlawful possession of ammunition, four counts of possession of a controlled drug with an intent to supply, and harbouring an escaped prisoner.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
×