St. Thomas police on Tuesday arrested four persons who once sold tourist wares at Drake's Seat and charged them with trespassing at the scenic overlook. The four were protesting their eviction from the site by the V.I. government after a long battle that wound up in District Court — and continues to draw the interest of local politicians.
Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty identified the four as Enrique "Chico" Perez, 51, of Lilliendahl and Marienhoj; Hector Rios, 40, of Lindbergh Bay; Gloria Todman, 44, of Frydenhoj and Iris Martinez, 46, of Lilliendahl and Marienhoj.
All four were charged with contempt of court. Martinez was also charged with trespassing. Carty said they were each placed on $1,000 bail.
Late Tuesday afternoon, judicial sources told the Source that the four were released after they were processed by police. They are to appear Wednesday before a Territorial Court judge for an advice-of-rights hearing.
Rios' brother, Evaristo, was one of two vendors who filed suit late last year in District Court asking that the V.I. government be held in contempt for violating a 1985 preliminary injunction that barred the government from evicting vendors from Drake's Seat. District Court Judge Thomas K. Moore ruled against the vendors on Jan. 26.
Earlier this month, at least five Drake's Seat vendors accepted a proposal from the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department to relocate next to Vendors Plaza, according to DLCA Commissioner Andrew Rutnik. But some of the more than a dozen vendors who once peddled T-shirts, drinks and the like at the overlook refused the move downtown, the latest of a series of relocation plans offered by the government and turned down by vendors.
According to court documents submitted on behalf of the vendors, some pulled down as much as $1,000 a week at Drake's Seat.
Senate Majority leader Celestino White denounced the arrests Tuesday. "I am outraged that four individuals in this community would be hauled off to jail by police officers for trespassing at Drake's Seat," he said.
White questioned why local law enforcement officers moved against the protesting vendors when the charges against them apparently stem from a violation of a federal court order.
"This matter with Drake's Seat ended up in District Court and it should be known that the local jurisdiction cannot hold these people in contempt," he said. White questioned whether the federal court barred the vendors from not only selling at the scenic overlook but also visiting the site.
White said Tuesday he is prepared to join several of his colleagues who have pledged to seek an override of the governor's veto of legislation authorizing a return of vendors to Drake's Seat.
