Three Men, Three Backpacks Travel To St. John; When They Arrive, Police Find Three Guns

CRUZ BAY — Police said they noticed a St. John man wanted for a robbery boarding a ferry in St. Thomas and decided to follow him.

Khalid Smith, 18, of Coral Bay boarded the ferry at the Red Hook Terminal in St. Thomas wearing a black packpack about 5:55 p.m. on Friday, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

Smith, according to the VIPD, was accompanied by two other men on the trip, each of them wearing black backpacks.

When the ferry arrived in St. John, police took Smith into custody, but found the black backpack was no longer on his person.

Police conducted an inspection of the other two passengers in the area of Cap’s Place on Henry Samuel Street in St. John and found 19-year-old Dmoi Martin with two black backpacks.

Martin was escorted by police to the Leander Jurgen Police Command in Cruz Bay where they conducted a search of his backpacks.

Each backpack contained a firearm, according to the VIPD.

Martin was then immediately placed under arrest and charged with three counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm and carrying, using, and possession of a deadly weapon, the VIPD said.

Martin’s bail was set at $150,000.00 by Order of the Court. Unable to post bail, he was processed and turned over to the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing. 

Smith was taken into custody for an outstanding warrant charging him with first-degree robbery, according to VIPD spokesman Glen Dratte.

Dratte said the unidentified third man apparently left with one of the backpacks.

“VIPD never got the third person,” he said.