CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man accused of being a serial gold chain snatcher … had the book thrown at him by a federal judge… after he used an assault rifle in a petty crime.
Arthur Greaves, Jr., 20, of St. Thomas, was sentenced today after being convicted of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
U.S. District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez sentenced Greaves to 10 years in prison. He also sentenced Greaves to five years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service and ordered Greaves to pay a special assessment of $100.
According to court documents, on May 17, 2018, Greaves pointed an A-15 rifle at a man as his four-year-old son attempted to enter a residence on Garden Street.
Greaves grabbed a gold chain from the man’s neck and ran to a building on Bunker Hill where responding officers discovered him hiding under a stairwell.
Greaves directed the officers to an adjacent abandoned building to reveal the rifle, a .22 cal. DPMS model A-15 with its serial number removed along with a double stack magazine and cartridges.
This case was investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Everard E. Potter.
