Feb. 27, 2009 — Four suspected residential burglars were apprehended this week before the victims even knew they had been robbed.
Jason Verhoeven returned from work late Thursday afternoon to find his front door open, his dogs running outside and his house ransacked.
"I was just showing up to the house, made a call to police … and an hour and a half later we were looking at our stuff in a trunk down in a police station, and we went and picked it up this morning," Verhoeven said Friday.
The police not only had the Verhoevens' belongings, but also already had four suspects in custody: D'Sean Thomas, 18; Jakoi Joseph, 18; and Rashimo Blyden, 21; along with a minor under 18.
Earlier Thursday afternoon, around 12:45 p.m., police received two anonymous calls from concerned citizens. The callers led police to investigate a possible burglary in progress involving four black males driving a "goldish" car and acting suspiciously in the area of lower Dorothea, located on the north side of St. Thomas.
A police car chase and foot chase later, the four suspects were detained.
Jewelry and various pieces of video games and other items were clearly visible in the vicinity of the vehicle and in the vehicle, according to a police report.
The detained suspects were transported to Richard Callwood Command along with the vehicle and recovered property.
One of the recovered items found was Verhoeven's old wallet and ID. Officer Cornel Esprit couldn't get in touch with Verhoeven because Verhoeven just bought a new cell phone and was waiting for service. But Esprit got in touch with Verhoeven's wife, Michelle.
She finally reached her husband around 4:30 and they couldn't figure out what was going on. He decided to wait until he got home to call Esprit. Shortly thereafter he discovered his burglarized house, that the thieves had taken his old wallet, and the police may have already solved the case.
"Chief Querrard even tackled one in the brush, I heard," Verhoeven said.
The couple plans to notify their neighbors about the criminal activity in their neighborhood.
"If my neighbor got robbed, I'd want to know about it," Verhoeven said.
Police Chief Rodney F. Querrard Sr. reflected his sentiments.
"I would like to commend the concerned citizens for making the calls," Querrard said in a statement. "We as a community need to realize that it could be our home next … if we continue to work together like we did today, we can and we will put criminals like these away."
The four suspects, one a minor, were arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and possession of stolen property. Bail for the three adults was set at $35,000 apiece. Unable to post bail, all three adults were remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending their advice-of-rights hearings scheduled for Friday. The minor was released to the custody of his parents until his advise-of-rights hearing on Friday.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
