When officers on St. Thomas arrested 26-year-old Mitchel Browne on a warrant for third-degree assault, they found him in possession of an unlicensed .40 caliber firearm and a fully loaded magazine, according to a report from the Virgin Islands Police Department.
The assault for which Browne was arrested occurred in September near the Oswald Harris housing community basketball court. A 30-year-old male victim told police a suspect, later identified as Browne, fired shots at him from a distance. The victim was uninjured.
Investigation Bureau detectives issued an internal "wanted poster" for Browne. When members of the VIPD Intelligence Unit arrested Browne in the Red Hook area on the assault charge, they searched him and reported finding the weapon and ammunition.
Browne was arrested at 9 a.m. Friday and charged with unauthorized possession of an unlicensed firearm and again at 11 a.m. on the assault charge.
Browne lives in Estate Anna’s Retreat and his bail for the two charges totaled $70,000.
• In a second arrest Friday, Mitchel Hodge, a 50-year-old resident of Estate Tutu, was arrested at 1:55 p.m. and charged with third-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon, simple assault and disturbance of the peace by threats.
Police said while Hodge was driving his vehicle in the Subbase area, he followed a male driver and forced him to stop his vehicle. Hodge approached the vehicle, reached inside and grabbed the driver by his shirt while accusing him of hitting his vehicle’s mirror. When the victim exited the vehicle to assess the alleged damage, Hodge brandished a pocket knife and threatened to stab him. The victim is in his 70s.
Police said there were no signs of vehicular damage. Bail for Hodge was set at $35,500.
Both Browne and Hodge were remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending further court action.
