Trial begins today for police sergeant, convicted dealer in drugs and dogfighting case
Published: May 3, 2010
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ST. THOMAS — Today, prosecution and defense teams will begin the process of getting a federal jury seated to hear the case of Police Sgt. Jerome Blyden and co-defendant Gelean Mark, a two-time convicted drug dealer.
Federal authorities took Blyden and Mark into custody on May 20, 2008, after a federal grand jury handed up an indictment charging the duo with running a criminal enterprise that engaged in narcotics distribution, unlawful gambling related to dogfighting and acts of violence, including attempted murder.
According to the 12-page charging document, Blyden and Mark made money from dealing drugs and illegal wagers on dogfights from at least 1999 until 2005. The indictment states that the men’s criminal enterprise was designed to make them money through illegal actions, promote those illegal actions to make more money and to use violence to protect themselves and instill fear in others.
Mark is described in the indictment as the leader of the enterprise, directing the illegal activities.
Blyden, a veteran police officer, provided security for illegal gambling on dogfighting, according to the indictment. Blyden protected the money that was wagered and earned at the dogfights and was an enforcer for the associated drug operation, according to the indictment.
Mark and Blyden face federal and local charges of racketeering, attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm while committing a drug-trafficking crime. Blyden also faces an additional count of assault with a dangerous weapon.
The two men are accused of working together to try to kill Trevor Nicholas Friday Jr. on May 24, 2004, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Friday threatened the criminal enterprise. At the time of the shooting, police said that Friday was shot several times that night outside Hi-Ho Supermarket in Smith Bay. Friday survived the shooting.
On that same night, the indictment states, Blyden assaulted Damien Daniel with a dangerous weapon. This incident gave rise to a third-degree assault charge Blyden faces.
If convicted of all charges, each man faces up to life in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
The indictment is the result of a nearly two-year investigation by federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, the V.I. Police Department and the V.I. Justice Department.
After his arrest, Blyden — who has spent almost six of his 13 years with the force on paid administrative leave for various reasons — was immediately placed on unpaid leave.
Blyden sits in jail awaiting his trial. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Geoffrey Barnard denied him pre-trial release.
Barnard said he took into consideration a number of issues highlighted in the prosecution’s motion following a bail hearing.
“... The government proffers that the defendant intimidated two witnesses who had witnessed the alleged attempted murder of Trevor Nicholas Friday Jr. on May 24, 2004; the defendant failed to immediately report the incident to the police and lied about his involvement in the incident; the defendant appeared at co-defendant’s Gelean Mark’s September 2007 trial in his V.I. Police Department T-shirt and behaved in a manner that suggested his support of Gelean Mark,” Barnard wrote.
Prosecutors also have charged that Blyden attempted to intimidate and threaten V.I. High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force Officer Mark Thomas and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Michael Goldfinger while they were conducting an investigation into Mark.
“The court notes that from 1997-2004, there were four complaints against the defendant for assault and/or battery; all were dismissed for insufficient evidence. In that same time period, there were two harassment complaints lodged against the defendant, one with a notation that its disposition is unknown and the other with a notation that was referred to Command Zone C. There were three complaints against the defendant charging threats and intimidation; two were closed due to insufficient evidence and one was closed because of the complainant’s non-cooperation. There was one complaint of brandishing a weapon at a Superior Court marshal, which is pending. There were 14 complaints that dealt with the defendant’s conduct as a police officer. Of the 14, he was disciplined on three complaints and the remaining 11 were either dismissed or their disposition unknown. Finally, there was one complaint where a citizen alleged that the defendant stole $600 from her; its disposition is unknown,” Barnard wrote.
Barnard said, “The government has presented clear and convincing evidence of the defendant’s danger to the community through the indictment and the proferred fact.”
Mark, who prosecutors said was a central figure in a number of drug conspiracy cases that have come before District Court, has previously been found guilty on two sets of federal charges and remains jailed.
