CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The Virgin Islands Police Department under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of Operations Celwin Walwyn is bringing M.A.G.I.C. to the territory.  The M.A.G.I.C. program stands for Mentoring, Advising, Guiding, Instructing and Children.  This 10-week program is aimed towards 5th grade students. The program is designed to provide

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A Florida man repairing hurricane-damaged property for the Virgin Islands Port Authority in St. Thomas discovered blank marine revenue checks in a filing cabinet and hand-wrote at least $93,000 in checks to himself and co-workers. Alain Rodriguez Rionda, 39, of Miami was arrested on a Superior Court

CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Croix bookkeeper admitted in federal court that she stole $85,510 in charitable donations intended for the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix in 2014 and 2015. Kira Lee Encarnacion, 41, of St. Croix pled guilty on July 26 in U.S. District Court to one count of federal program

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Croix man who went on a wild shootout near Sunny Isle Shopping Center and once convicted of that escapade, escaped from prison two days later, had an additional 2.33 years in prison tacked on to the time he will have to serve. Nathaniel “Jahreek” Thomas,

CHRISTIANSTED — A Puerto Rico native who prosecutors called the “manager” of a Venezuelan maritime smuggling operation trying to bring 661 pounds of cocaine to the region was handed a 25-year prison term by a federal judge on Thursday. Omy Gutierrez-Calderon, 39, of San Juan, was sentenced to 300 months

FREDERIKSTED — Alert police seeing a black Honda driving without license plates late Tuesday night conducted a traffic stop near the Captain Morgan Rum Distillery and allegedly found two St. Croix men with handguns, authorities said. Jareem Tutein, 22, the driver of the car, was arrested and charged with unauthorized

CHRISTIANSTED — A woman said a St. Croix mechanic was nice enough to come pick her and her car up in Williams Delight, but should not have pursued anything else as she waited for the car to be repaired near Queens Quarter. John A. Poleon, 59, was charged with first-degree

CHRISTIANSTED — A federal judge today gave a Puerto Rico man 11.25 years in prison for trying to bring 661.387 pounds of cocaine to the region, authorities said. Anibal Vega-Arizmendi, 29, of Culebra, was sentenced to 135 months in prison for conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute and

CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Croix convicted felon admitted in federal court today that he hid a semi-automatic weapon in a shipment of tools to St. Croix, authorities said. William Payne, 39, of St. Croix, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one federal count of possession of a firearm by

CHRISTIANSTED — United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said that Samuel Melendez, 43, of St. Croix pleaded guilty in federal court today to unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone. According to court documents, on October 8, 2018, Virgin Island Police officers responded to the H & R Supermarket