Director of the V.I. Bureau of Corrections Basil Richards ordered a lockdown at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility on St. Croix Friday, after a photo of prisoners dressed in casual street clothes and holding liquor bottles showed up on the social media site Facebook.
A statement from Government House announcing the lockdown said inmates will be on full cell restriction until further notice, with no movement or recreational activities. Work details or work release programs have been suspended as well as all visitations.
In the photo, which the Source discovered but will not publish due to security concerns, the two young men are standing on either side of a green, yellow and red flag, with an image of the Lion of Judah, hanging on a wall behind them.
The man in the left of the photo, which was taken inside Golden Grove, is wearing a white sleeveless undershirt, and has a blue bandana hanging out of his right-hand pocket.
Gang experts say the Crips usually hang the blue bandana out of the left pocket. However, the man’s left pocket is not visible from the angle the picture was taken. He appears to be holding a Chivas Regal Scotch whiskey bottle.
The dreadlocked man on the right, wearing short camouflage pants and a black sleeveless tank top, is holding what appears to be a bottle of Grey Goose vodka.
Richards said the matter is under investigation. He would not say what further action would be taken or how long he expected the lockdown to continue.
In describing the image, he said the men were not dressed in anything resembling prison attire.
The move to lock down the facility was a proactive and necessary action to safeguard both the prison population and Corrections personnel, he said.