Two suspects were arrested Friday and charged in the Nov. 20 robbery of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Frederiksted, the V.I. Police Department reported.
The suspects, 18-year-old Jashira Lopez and 34-year-old Damian Lang, were arrested on Superior Court warrants and charged with first-degree robbery.
While executing the search and arrest warrants, detectives and officers from the Special Response Team confiscated a 9 mm Smith and Wesson handgun and a .22 caliber rifle, along with ammunition for both weapons. Lopez was arrested at a residence in Estate Profit and Damian Lang was arrested at a residence in Estate Grove Place, the police said.
The KFC in Frederiksted was robbed at about 9:30 p.m. Nov. 20, according to initial reports. Police said a lone masked gunman, walked into the restaurant and pointed a gun at a female employee. He demanded she open the safe and give him the money, which she did. The suspect also took cash from the cash register and then ran out of the store.
Police learned, but did not report at the time, that the suspect was seen getting into a green Chevy Cavalier that was parked nearby. The vehicle was stopped later that night as police searched for the suspects. Lopez was driving the car when police stopped it, and was detained for questioning that same night. Police later released Lopez and continued to develop additional evidence to build a stronger case against the suspects.
Along with the robbery charge, the pair were charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm during the commission of a crime of violence and failure to report a firearm brought into or obtained outside of the Virgin Islands. The suspects were held on a $100,000 bail each for the robbery charge and $25,000 each for the weapons charges, the police department said.
St. Croix Acting Police Chief James Parris congratulated the detectives for their investigation of the case. He also congratulated the SRT team along with detectives from the Criminal Investigation Bureau for successfully taking the suspects into custody.
