FREDERIKSTED — A combined effort by officers of the Special Operations Bureau from the St. Thomas-St. John and St. Croix Districts produced three illegal firearms arrests on St. Croix this week authorities said.
Officers arrested Joseph H. Narinesingh, 19, of Upper Love, at 2:18 p.m. Monday and charged him with possession of an unlicensed firearm, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
As first reported by the Virgin Islands Free Press yesterday, police arrested Marcus Daniel, 22, and Rosniel Diaz Bautista, 18, on Sunday each of Lagoon Complex Apartments, and charged them with possession of an unlicensed firearm, according to the VIPD.
Daniel and Diaz were passengers in a vehicle stopped during a traffic initiative on Hams Bluff Road in the vicinity of Rhythms at Rainbow Beach. Each man was found with firearms on their person, according to VIPD spokesman Toby Derima.
“As neither was licensed to carry a firearm, they were placed under arrest,” Derima said.
“Narinesingh was an occupant of a vehicle stopped on Northside Road, in the vicinity of Morningstar,” the police spokesman said. “During the traffic stop, he admitted to having a firearm on his person.”
Narinesingh does not have a license to possess a firearm, and he was placed under arrest as a result, according to police.
Bail for Daniel, Diaz and Narinesingh were set at $50,000 each. None of the men were able to post bail and were turned over to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending advice of rights hearings.
St. Croix Chief of Police Sidney Elskoe commended the Special Operations Bureau for the arrests and thanked the officers from the St. Thomas-St. John District for assisting in the initiative.
“We will keep the pressure on those who want to possess illegal firearms,” Chief Elskoe said.