CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Acting on a tip, members of Operation Over Watch intersected with a St. Thomas motorist driving with heavily-tinted windows and arrested him on a drug charge, authorities said.
Michael Frett, 29, was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Officers with the Operation Over Watch Task Force, a VIPD led Anti-Violent Crime Operation, received information about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday from the VIPD Intelligence Unit that a heavily tinted Acura TSX with a tinted license plate cover left the area of Gas Works II and was traveling west towards the Bolongo Bay area, according to the VIPD.
Officers were in the area and initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle that fit the description of the details
provided by the Intelligence Unit, police said.
A driver, who was later identified as Frett, was instructed several times to put his vehicle in park and remove the keys from the ignition, according to police.
“Officers observed that Frett constantly moved around in the vehicle and was ordered to step out of the vehicle followed by a pat down for safety,” VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said. “Frett admitted to officers that he was in possession of a half of an ounce of marijuana after being asked.”
Officers also detected a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, police said.
“Frett’s vehicle was searched when two clear sandwich bags containing marijuana and several small plastic containers, packaged for sale which contained additional marijuana was found in the vehicle,” according to Dratte.
Frett was placed under arrest and transported to the Richard Callwood Command where he was booked and processed. He was remanded to the custody of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing, set for today at 10:00 a.m.