Police on St. Croix continue to investigate an alleged car-jacking earlier this week that ended with the victim escaping his assailants while at an automated banking machine.
Early Monday, a man reported to police that while he was driving on a back road near the Christiansted Cemetery another vehicle was blocking the road. An unidentified man flagged the 44-year-old man down and approached his 2000 GMC Sonoma pick-up truck.
The man on foot then approached the pick-up truck window and pointed a silver handgun while on the opposite side of the vehicle another armed man appeared, according to St. Croix Deputy Police Chief Novelle Francis.
The driver was robbed of $150 and his automated teller card was taken. The suspects then ordered the victim into the passenger seat and then commandeered the truck, Francis said. The suspects are alleged to have driven the victim to Banco Popular in Orange Grove in the truck while another followed in the vehicle used to block the road.
While the suspects contemplated the ATM, the victim made his escape. He ran to the nearby Pueblo supermarket and called police at about 1:30 a.m., Francis said.
Francis said police investigators are looking into the incident. The case could be turned over to federal law enforcement officers because car-jacking is a federal offense.
Individuals with information about the crime are urged to call 911 or the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 778-2211 ext. 4531.
