An arsenal of 11 weapons ranging from handguns to an AK-47 were seized Thursday evening when St. Croix police raided an abandoned house in the Richmond area.
The raid was related to the murder of Luis Roldan, whose body was found Saturday in a burning car near the Ralph de Chabert housing community. The car was later determined to belong to a family member of the deceased, and he was identified through dental records Thursday, according to Police Commissioner Novelle Francis.
According to St. Croix Police Chief Oakland Benta, the investigation into the death led to Thursday’s raid, although he could not discuss details of the case because the investigation is continuing.
Francis and Benta discussed the raid at a press conference.
The raid occurred after dark, Benta said. According to Francis, no individuals were present, but police have targets several suspects and hope to make arrests soon.
Francis spoke as a slide show flashed images of the firearms across a screen.
“My blood crawls as you see these weapons scroll across the screen,” the commissioner said. “These weapons are for nothing more than to commit bodily harm.”
Benta praised the neighbors for calling police immediately, giving investigators a head start on the investigation.
Along with the weapons, police confiscated an assortment of ammunition for a variety of different sized weapons, about five pounds of marijuana, two rocks of crack cocaine, a bulletproof vest, scales and drug packaging.
The confiscated weapons included:
• a 12-gauge sawed off shotgun
• a .40 caliber Taurus pistol
• a Colt .380 pistol
• a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol
• a .45 caliber Colt
• a 9 mm pistol
• a 9 mm DX pistol
• a .40 caliber Glock pistol
• a .22 caliber rifle
• an AK-47 assault rifle, and
• a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau, Territorial Anti-Gang Intervention Task Force, Special Operations Response Team, Marine and K-9 units participated in the raid.
The evidence was confiscated between 8 p.m. and midnight Thursday while police executed a series of search warrants in Estates Anna’s Hope, Princess, Richmond and the JFK housing community. According to Francis, all the seized material came from the same abandoned house.
Francis said the weapons will be tested using the Integrated Ballistic Identification System to determine if they were used in any crime in the territory or outside the territory. IBIS compares bullet casings to a nationwide data base.
The commissioner added it was too early to tell if any of the seized weapons could be linked to Roldan’s murder.
Thursday’s raid grew out of the investigation of the Saturday murder of Roldan, according to the commissioner.
On Saturday, neighbors near the Ralph de Chabert housing community called police to report a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed, Benta said. Then they called to report gunshots, and when police responded residents were calling again to report the vehicle on fire, Benta said.
On Jan. 29, Roldan was convicted as part of a police extortion case. Benta refused to speculate whether the extortion case had anything to do with Saturday’s homicide, or whether Roldan had any connection to the men police believe killed him, other than as a victim.
“Right now we’re considering him a victim,” the chief said.
Francis noted that, while homicides in the territory are on pace to set a new annual record, virtually every other crime category in the territory is down. Further, he noted that there had been a break of more than a month between the last homicide in the territory and cases that occurred last week.
He attributed the decline to energetic enforcement activity by the police, and the use of aggressive techniques including the use of saturated patrols and traffic stops.
He said that police have “gotten the bad guys off the streets,” and that judges are keeping more of them behind bars instead of granting routine parole. He also pointed to the number of weapons confiscated, saying that with those firearms in police custody, there are fewer for miscreants to use in the commission of crime.
