While conducting a routine traffic stop, officers from the V.I. Police Department’s Special Operations Bureau on Tuesday arrested two St. Croix men and charged them with firearms violations.
According to the VIPD, at about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday, officers on patrol on the Melvin H. Evans Highway in the vicinity of Diageo’s Captain Morgan’s Rum Distillery observed a black two-door Honda without license plate tags.
Officers immediately conducted a traffic stop. The driver, identified by police as 22-year-old Jareem Tutein, came out of the vehicle and provided an expired driver’s license.
During the process officers saw a black handgun behind the driver’s seat on the floor. Tutein was immediately detained.
The passenger, 29-year-old Roy Hendrikson, got out of the car and, upon questioning by police, became aggressive and uncooperative with the officers. Police said a physical altercation ensued in which the officers and Hendrikson fell to ground before police were able to detain Hendrikson.
According to the police report, while on the ground, the officers saw saw a handgun underneath the vehicle.
Tutein was arrested and charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm. His bail was set at $10,000 by a Superior Court Magistrate. Unable to post bail he was remanded to the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Center.
Hendrikson was charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, obstructing and delaying an officer while discharging his duties. Bail was set by a Superior Court Magistrate at $100,000 and, unable to post bail, Hendrikson was remanded to Golden Grove.