Local and federal authorities used a St. Thomas traffic stop to join forces, leading to the arrest of three suspects. Following their arrest, the trio were brought before a federal magistrate at a hearing in Superior Court.
According to information filed by officers from the Virgin Islands Police Department Special Operations Bureau, the stop took place Tuesday on Peter Mountain Road.
The red SUV, ordered to pull over, did not, and traveled on for about a block until one of the officers pursued and intercepted it. A search of the vehicle produced a firearm with a conversion kit, allowing ammunition to be fired continuously.
Suspects David Medina, Andes Guerrero, and Jhosmel Garcia were charged with possession of an unlicensed Glock firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of a conversion kit and reckless endangerment.
As the arrest was taking place, officers said they were met by agents of Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations who, “arrived on the scene and informed us that they had the three suspects that we had under arrest under surveillance for quite some time,” court documents said.
Drug-sniffing dogs were brought onto the scene to search the SUV, around the time that Special Ops officers said they discovered the vehicle bore license plates that did not match the registration.
Superior Court Magistrate Simone Van Holten Turnbull held a hearing for the trio on Wednesday. She upheld all the charges and ordered Medina, Guerrero, and Garcia held on $100,000 bail apiece, allowing them to win pretrial release upon posting $35,000 cash each and submitting to house arrest with electronic monitors.
Defense attorneys representing the three men protested the bail conditions. Public Defender Corey Hodge called the bail excessive. “Three people were charged with possession of one weapon that was never fired. There was no discharging of this weapon, no assault, and no property damage,” Hodge said.
The magistrate disagreed. “The court is concerned that these individuals are a flight risk, and the court is concerned that this is not just a firearm, this is a machine gun; there was a conversion kit,” Van Holten-Turnbull said.
An arraignment hearing was scheduled for March 24 at 10 a.m. It was the second time in less than a week that Special Op cops confronted aggressive suspects who tried to evade a traffic stop.
A preliminary hearing was held on Monday for Lamar Richardson, who police said sped away when he was ordered to pull over the white Toyota Corolla he was operating on March 3. In a document filed with the court, the arresting officer said he recognized Richardson as the victim of a shooting that took place on Dec. 18 in the Havensight area.
That officer also stated that when he approached the vehicle, he spotted a bag stuffed under the passenger seat in a way that made the outline of a 50-shot ammunition drum apparent.
Richardson fled the scene, but the vehicle was spotted near Magens Bay Junction Apartments the following day. Officers said they set up surveillance and saw a second vehicle — a Ford Focus — pull up and pick up a male individual, then quickly left.
A few minutes later, the second car returned and a man dressed in a green hoodie emerged, later identified as Richardson. The hooded man got into the Toyota and the two vehicles quickly left the scene.
Police pursued the Focus as it led them on a high-speed chase near the Cyril E. King Airport. Authorities caught up with them near Lindbergh Bay Beach. The vehicle’s two occupants were taken into custody.
Then a call came in, they said, saying Richardson was on his way to Zone A Command on Veterans Drive to turn himself in. He was charged with being a felon in possession of illegal ammunition, delaying and obstructing officers in performance of their duties, and reckless endangerment. Bail was set at $100,000; a $50,000 cash bond was set by the court at an Advice of Rights hearing held Monday.
Richardson was also ordered to appear for arraignment on March 24 at 10 a.m.
