FLORIDA- A Bahamian boat captain whose boat ran out of fuel during a human smuggling voyage has pleaded not guilty.
The U.S. Coast Guard arrested Vonne Rolle, of Abaco, on August 3 after they rescued his stranded vessel with 13 undocumented migrants on board, off Port St. Lucie, Florida.
After encountering rough seas caused by Tropical Storm Isaias, Rolle’s boat experienced engine failure before it ran out of fuel, according to a federal complaint.
Officials found the boat adrift with no water, food or life vests.
Some of the migrants told officials that they asked Rolle to return to The Bahamas due to the bad weather, but he refused.
Authorities deported Rolle from the US in 2018 after he spent 18 months in prison for the same crime.
As a deportee, Rolle was permanently banned from re-entry.
Rolle, 29, denied charges of conspiracy to induce aliens to enter the United States, encouraging and inducing aliens to enter the United States, and bringing aliens to the United States at an arraignment via Zoom on October 14.
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