Two suspects were arrested and a third is sought after an armed robbery Friday at a restaurant in downtown Christiansted, the V.I. Police Departmennt reported.
The police identified the two arrested suspects as 16-year-old minors. They were arrested about 10 minutes after the crime, charged and are being held at the Youth Rehabilitation Center.
According to the police, at about 9 p.m. Friday officers were notified by 911 dispatchers that a robbery was in progress at the Dashi restaurant in the Caravel Arcade. The suspects were described as armed, wearing green T-shirts, dark-colored short pants with their faces covered in different colored bandanas.
Several patrons were robbed of their cash and personal belongings, the initial report said. Police interviewed witnesses while others searched for the suspects.
Officers located the two minors riding bicycles in the vicinity of the Ralph de Chabert housing community. Police confiscated cash and a cell phone from the minors. A check of the surrounding area yielded a weapon, later identified as a pellet gun. The cell phone was positively identified as belonging to one of the victims.
St. Croix acting Police Chief James Parris credited cooperation by the community and detailed descriptions of the suspects to the swift apprehension.
“We applaud the patrons of the establishment for their perfect descriptions of the suspects in the robbery," Parris said. "Consequently we were able to apprehend the perpetrators within 10 minutes of the incident.”
Parris noted that while officers were on active patrol in the downtown area that night, people intending to commit crimes will wait until officers are out of sight before committing their crimes.
“We depend on the community to assist us by giving vital information we can use to track down the suspects. The more assistance we get from the community, the faster we can get these individuals off the streets and into custody,” Parris said.
