ST. THOMAS — Benjamin Hendricks, the government contractor found guilty of wire fraud and bribery alongside former Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White, has joined in White’s motion seeking a new trial.
Filed yesterday by Hendricks’s attorney, Darren Jean-Baptise, the motion for joinder was promptly granted by Judge Mark Kearney, whose response to a question asked by the jury is the basis of the defendants’ request for a new trial.
During the second day of deliberations, the jury asked whether it was “common knowledge” that messages and calls in the Virgin Islands used systems outside the territory therefore qualifying as interstate commerce, a key element in wire fraud charges.
White’s defense attorney Clive Rivers argued this was a factual issue for the jury to decide, but Kearney disagreed. After calling the jury back into the courtroom, Kearney told them while he did not get involved in questions of fact, he could tell them about the law and stated that such communications did qualify under the law.
Rivers claims this response infringed on the jury’s role and compromised his client’s right to a fair trial.
READ MORE: Calvert White’s attorney files motion for new trial, claims judge improperly answered jury question
While Hendricks remains active in his federal criminal case, he has yet to respond to a separate civil lawsuit over unpaid construction supplies, prompting the plaintiff to request a default judgment against him.
MSI Building Supplies, Inc., a construction materials supplier based in St. Thomas, sued Hendricks and his company, A Clean Environment USVI, for a little over $30,000 dollars in unpaid charges.
According to the complaint filed on April 25, Hendricks had a longstanding credit arrangement with MSI, allowing him to purchase materials and pay later, with a 1% monthly service charge on outstanding balances.
MSI claims that despite delivering the materials as agreed, Hendricks has failed to pay the balance which stood at $31,354.62 as of March and continued to accrue interest, an amount that MSI says Hendricks has not disputed.
READ MORE: MSI Building Supplies sues indicted contractor Benjamin Hendricks for monies allegedly owed in goods
In their motion for entry of default filed earlier this month, MSI claims that despite being personally served with the complaint on June 14, Hendricks has failed to respond.
A defendant served with a summons and complaint must file a response within 21 days of being served, according to the Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure, setting the deadline for a response over a month ago, on July 5.
