April 15, 2008 — V.I. Police Department officials are putting their recently acquired mobile substations to use, and will hit Carnival events on St. Thomas and "hot spot" areas on St. Croix in efforts to deter crime.
On Thursday, St. Thomas' substation will remain in the Havensight area. Recent robberies of residents and visitors have made increased police presence a necessity on days when multiple cruise ships dock, according to St. Thomas-St. John Police Chief Rodney Querrard.
"These kind of crimes affect all of us, and we're going to be doing our best to cut this nonsense out," Querrard said Wednesday, during a press conference on St. Thomas. The substation will also make the rounds during Carnival, allowing officers to remain in full force during events such as J'ouvert and the opening of the Carnival Village, he added.
During that time, police will also crack down on curfews for children under 16 and confiscate weapons, Querrard said. Police will also check — and ticket — for seatbelts, tint and cell phone use, he added.
On St. Croix, the mobile substation will remain on the island's north shore over the weekend, according to St. Croix Police Chief Thomas Hannah. The island is currently having "a problem with stolen vehicles," he said, urging residents with Honda Civics and Accords to "take a moment and secure their vehicles" before leaving them unattended.
Other crime-fighting initiatives in both districts, such as increased traffic stops, have yielded a record number of firearms and arrests, Querrard and Hannah said. To date, 170 arrests have been made on St. Thomas, along with the recovery of 34 illegal firearms on St. Thomas and four on St. John. On St. Croix, 33 illegal weapons have been recovered over the past four months. Police have also made 156 felony arrests on the big island and issued 642 traffic citations, Hannah said.
Most recently police apprehended Nfari "Addis" Benjamin, 25, accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal car incident in Christiansted in late January. A 31-year-old man riding in a four-door 1999 Toyota Tercel died in the wreck.
Benjamin was found in Chattanooga, Tenn., and has since been remanded to Golden Grove, Hannah said. Police were also able to quickly apprehend at least one perpetrator involved last week in a third-degree assault, in which a local taxi driver sustained a "cut to the throat," Hannah said.
Meanwhile, police on St. Thomas are still working to identify a body found last week in the waters near Villa Olga in Frenchtown. Another body — found floating over the weekend near Tortola Wharf — has since been identified as 32-year-old Ashanti Frazer of Estate Anna's Retreat. Both bodies have been turned over to the local medical examiner to determine cause of death, Querrard said.
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