A man who arrived home in the early morning hours Sunday was able to fend what he described as an attempted armed robbery, the V.I. Police Department reported.
According to police, officers responded to an 1:11 a.m. call Sunday reporting a disturbance in Sunny Acres. Arriving at the scene officers found fellow VIPD officers already there, with a black male individual detained on the ground in handcuffs.
The complainant told police he’d just arrived at his residence and gotten out of his car when he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. Turning, he saw the suspect walking toward him with a long firearm pointed towards him.
The man told police he happened to have a machete in his possession and swung at the suspect several times while yelling for help. His neighbor came to his aid and assisted in retrieving the firearm from the suspect.
The complainant had sustained several lacerations to the palm of his hand, and the suspect sustained lacerations to his hands and face during the incident and was transported by ambulance to the Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment.
According to police, at the hospital the suspect made several utterances admitting to robbery.
Police asked anyone with additional information concerning the incident to phone 911 or the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477.
