1 cargo ship stowaway has U.S. conviction

One of two stowaways who survived a ride on a cargo ship from the Dominican Republic to Charleston a week ago is a veteran of the U.S. court system.

Eddy Martinez-Reyes, 41, was convicted in New York of selling a controlled substance in 1997 and sentenced to five years of probation, according to U.S. attorney's officials. Martinez-Reyes, also known as "El Baron," then was convicted of selling a controlled substance again in New York in 2005 and was sentenced to two to four years in prison, officials said.

Martinez-Reyes faces up to 20 years in federal prison, three years of supervised released and a $250,000 fine on the new charge of re-entry of an alien after an aggravated felony conviction, according to prosecutors.

Two other men arrived onboard the Mediterranean Shipping Co.'s ship Debra on June 12, including one found dead inside a container. Officials have not released that man's name or cause of death.

The other surviving stowaway, 34-year-old Jose Miguel Crisotomo-Perez, also known as "Chi Chi," was arrested on charges of improper entry of an alien. He faces up to six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a $5,000 fine, according to prosecutors.

The Debra left the Dominican Republican on June 9 and arrived at the Wando Welch Terminal at noon June 12. The men made the three-day trip hiding in a container with a hole cut in the top through which they could enter and leave, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.

Dockworkers unloading the ship reported seeing men climbing out of a container, and a team of officers from Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard responded.

They captured one of the stowaways on the ship and pulled the other from the water after he jumped overboard. The ship left the terminal early Sunday morning. A federal grand jury will consider Martinez-Reyes' and Crisotomo-Perez's cases.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.