IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 
DIVISION OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. JOHN 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
Plaintiff, 
v. 
LOUIE ISON MANGAMPAT, 
Defendant. 
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Case No. 3:19-cr-0068 
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ORDER 
 
BEFORE THE COURT is the motion of the United States to continue the trial in this 
matter, currently scheduled for May 10, 2021. (ECF No. 102.) For the reasons stated herein, 
the time to try this case is extended up to and including July 26, 2021. 
On April 22, 2021, the United States filed a motion to continue the trial date. (ECF No. 
102.) As a basis for the request, the United States asserts that it “is concerned that its 
international witness may experience unusual difficulty traveling to the United States for 
trial due to the COVID pandemic.” Id. at 1. Currently, five of the United States’ witness are 
expected to travel from international locations to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the trial in this 
matter. Three of those witnesses are in the Philippines. The United States asserts that 
[t]he Centers for Disease Control currently lists the Philippines at a Level 4 Travel 
Advisory, the highest level. They began their latest lockdown on March 29, 2021. That 
lockdown eased on April 12, 2021 for certain essential workers, but the Travel 
Advisory remains Level 4. Therefore, witnesses returning to the Philippines are 
required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. 
Id. at 1. Another witness is currently on a ship stationed in Greece. According to the United 
States, 
[c]urrently the Greece Embassy indicates that Greece is in lockdown due to COVID. 
This witness is a citizen of Israel and is due to return there at the end of April where 
he will be required to quarantine for two weeks. The quarantine will end the earliest 
May 11, 2021. At that time the witness will be required to pass a COVID test and only 
then will he be permitted to leave quarantine. 
Id. at 2. Given these concerns, the United States requests that the Court continue the trial in 
this matter for thirty days. Id. 
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United States v. Mangampat 
Case No. 3:19-cr-0068 
Order 
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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief Judge of the District Court of the 
Virgin Islands has entered a general order concerning operations of the Court. The Chief 
Judge has thus far extended the order eleven times, finding that the ends of justice require 
excluding March 18, 2020, through April 30, 2021, from the Speedy Trial count in all criminal 
matters.  
 
To date, the COVID-19 virus has claimed more than 573,000 lives (27 of which have 
been in the U.S. Virgin Islands). Current testing indicates that the rate of contraction of the 
virus is slowing in recent weeks. Notwithstanding the decrease in the incidence of COVID-19 
in the Virgin Islands over the past few weeks, the Court finds that a continuance of the trial 
date in this case is in the best interest of justice. COVID-19 continues to present an 
unpredictable threat to public health and safety. In light of these circumstances, the Court 
finds it necessary and appropriate to proceed with caution. Social distancing—specifically 
avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people and maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from 
others—remains the most effective check against the COVID-19’s transmission. Moreover, 
this case in particular presents significant challenges surrounding COVID-19 transmission 
risk and travel restrictions as the majority of the United States’ essential witnesses are 
foreign nationals. Indeed, three witnesses are from the Philippines, one witness is in 
Barbados, and one witness is from Israel, but currently in Greece where there is a COVID-19 
lockdown. Given the continuing dire circumstances faced by the U.S. Virgin Islands and the 
United States as a whole, the Court finds that extending the period within which Defendants 
may be tried under the Speedy Trial Act is necessary for the protection and well-being of the 
Defendants, the jury, the prosecutors, the witnesses, the Court’s personnel, and the general 
public at large. 
The premises considered, it is hereby  
ORDERED that the motion of the United States, ECF No. 102, to continue the trial in 
this matter is hereby GRANTED; it is further 
 
 
ORDERED that the time beginning from the date of this order granting an extension 
through July 26, 2021, shall be excluded in computing the time within which the trial in this 
matter must be initiated pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161; it is further 
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United States v. Mangampat 
Case No. 3:19-cr-0068 
Order 
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ORDERED that the trial in this matter previously scheduled for May 10, 2021, is 
RESCHEDULED to commence promptly at 9:30 A.M. on July 26, 2021, in St. Thomas 
Courtroom 1; and it is further 
ORDERED that the deadlines set by the Court’s January 21, 2021 Order are extended 
as follows: (1) the deadline for the parties to file their pretrial brief is extended to July 19, 
2021, and (2) the deadline for the parties to provide the Clerk of Court with a USB Flash Drive 
containing electronic versions of exhibits is extended to July 21, 2021. 
 
Dated: April 28, 2021 
 
/s/ Robert A. Molloy  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
ROBERT A. MOLLOY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Judge 
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