CHRISTIANSTED — A routine traffic stop near Five Corners yielded the arrest of a St. Croix man allegedly with an illegal gun and drugs in his car.
Mitchell P. Hanley Jr., 31, was arrested and charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Bail was set at $25,000. Unable to post bail, Hanley was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility pending an advice-of-rights hearing, according to the VIPD.
After Hanley was advised of his rights, he allegedly admitted to not having a firearms license and being in possession of 2.2 pounds of marijuana found in his vehicle, VIPD spokesman Glen Dratte said.
Members from the VIPD Special Operations Bureau (SOB) were conducting a traffic initiative “Operation Prevention Better Than Cure” on the North Shore Road near Golden Rock at 11 p.m. Saturday.
During the initiative officers observed a silver BMW 2006 without a registration sticker with three male individuals in the vehicle, police said.
“At this time officers then asked for consent to check the vehicle which was granted by the driver 31-year-old Mitchell P. Hanley Jr.,” Dratte said. “One 45-caliber firearm was discovered inside the rear right door panel, also discovered (was) 1,033 grams of marijuana.”