CHARLOTTE AMALIE – A St. Thomas homeless man admitted in federal court on Thursday that he stole a package from the Emancipation Garden post office earlier this year.
Allen Springette, 45, of St. Thomas pleaded guilty to burglary of the Alvaro de Lugo Post Office, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
Springette appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Gomez. Sentencing is set for October 18, 2018.
In court on Thursday, Springette admitted that, had the case proceeded to trial, the government would have been able to prove that in the early morning hours of April 16, 2018, Springette gained entry into the Alvaro de Lugo Post Office by smashing one of its windows with a brick.
After crawling through the window, Springette rifled through several postal packages and thereafter, as was captured on surveillance video, left with at least one package. Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) officers easily identified Springette as the individual captured on those surveillance videos and, upon encountering him later that same evening, noticed that Springette appeared to be wearing the same clothing as seen on the videos.
When questioned, Springette admitted to breaking into the Alvaro de Lugo Post Office with the intent of finding items to steal and that he did, in fact, steal at least one postal package.
According to court documents, Springette is a homeless man with a history of using rocks to smash open windows in downtown Charlotte Amalie.
Springette faces a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of $250,000.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD).
It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith J. Edwards.