CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Police discovered a fully-loaded 9mm Ghost Gun in a sedan after a motorist failed to brake for a stop sign near Mountain Top in St. Thomas this weekend.
Bernard Kennings Jr., 44, of St. Thomas, was arrested and charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Officers with the Special Operations Bureau (SOB) alongside officers from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) were enforcing traffic on Saint Peter Mountain Road about 3:55 p.m. Friday, according to the VIPD.
Officers initiated a traffic stop when they observed a blue Honda Accord that failed to stop
at a stop sign, police said. Officers then approached the vehicle and immediately detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle.
Upon inspection of the operator’s driver license, police learned that it was expired. Further inspection revealed that the vehicle’s insurance and registration were also expired and the license plate that was attached to the vehicle belonged to a different vehicle.
Officer’s asked Kennings to exit the vehicle, where he was patted down for officer safety, VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said. Kennings was asked if he had any narcotics or weapons in the vehicle prior to officer’s search.
“Kennings admitted to officers that he had narcotics and a firearm inside the vehicle,” according to Dratte.
Kennings was found in the possession of a 9-millimeter handgun (Ghost Gun – no serial number) with a 15 round magazine filled to capacity and marijuana, the police spokesman added.
The suspect was booked, processed and remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing tomorrow.
