May 7, 2003 – Officers responding to a report of a shooting incident in downtown Charlotte Amalie on Wednesday afternoon detained 12 individuals and seized four 9 mm pistols, three rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, eight bulletproof vests, crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a tool used to remove serial numbers from firearms, police said.
One individual was charged with possession of a controlled substance and another was charged with illegal possession of ammunition, a release stated. The names of the two were not provided.
According to the release, police received a report at about 1 p.m. of "a shooting incident involving a number of individuals in the area of Nye and Nordsidevej Gades commonly known as Simmonds Alley," north of the Labor Department building. A "street enforcement team" in the area responded and stopped the shooting.
After detaining the dozen individuals, the officers found four Glock 9mm pistols, one .308-caliber rifle and one 30.06 caliber rifle. They then searched a house in the area where some of those detained reportedly live. Inside, the release said, they found hundreds of rounds of ammunition, crack cocaine, a fully loaded magazine for an AK-47 rifle, eight brand-new bulletproof vests, an electronic scale used in weighing illegal substances, and a grinding die-tool used to remove serial numbers from weapons.
The brand-new vests were still in their packages, the release said, and an investigation is under way to determine where they came from.
Police Commissioner Elton Lewis went to the crime scene and commended the officers for their handling of the situation, the release stated.
"We are going to continue to go after these guys that fire weapons indiscriminately," Lewis said. "We are going to go into their areas; we will challenge them; we will be coming hard and we will take back our streets and neighborhoods."
He said the weapons seized would be available for inspection at the police chief's office in the Alexander Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
