Unarmed Homeless Man Apprehended By Security Guard, Police After Bank Robbery

CHARLOTTE AMALIE —Virgin Islands police recovered an undisclosed amount of money from an unarmed homeless man who robbed a bank in St. Thomas late this morning, authorities said.

Errol Jackson, 31, of no fixed address, was arrested at 11:34 a.m. today and charged with first-degree robbery and disturbance of the peace, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

“Jackson – accused of taking money from a teller at FirstBank Plaza near Fort Mylner using a demand note – was apprehended and detained by bank security until police detectives made the arrest.,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said.

The suspect claimed that he was armed when he handed the bank teller the demand note, according to Derima.

Bail for Jackson was set at $75,000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing.

All individuals listed as arrested or charged with a crime in this report are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.