A K-9 officer on St. Croix arrested three men and charged them with possession of an unlicensed firearm and other charges when a loaded weapon was found in the vehicle they were in. Police said the weapon was a flare gun that was modified to shoot .38-caliber bullets.
The arrest occurred at about 1 a.m. Sunday on the Melvin Evans Highway. The officer stopped the vehicle after observing it run a red light. The driver, later identified as 19-year-old Roan James of Estate Smithfield, told the officer that he doesn’t stop for red lights at that time of the morning. The officer asked James if there was anything illegal in the car whereupon James began to “shake uncontrollably,” according to the officer.
The K-9 officer’s police dog was deployed and located the weapon under the front passenger seat, where the second suspect, 20-year-old Dion Barnes was seated. Frankie Camacho, 18, was in the rear seat. All suspects denied any knowledge of the weapon and denied ownership of the weapon.
The suspects were charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession or sale of ammunition, failure to report a firearm obtained outside or brought into the Virgin Islands.
After the suspects’ advice of rights hearing Tuesday, all three suspects were released to third-party custodians by order of the V.I. Superior Court. Additionally, Camacho and James were placed on a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and Barnes was placed on 24-hour house arrest with conditions from the judge that he cannot be outside his home unless he is looking for work, attending school or going to the hospital.
