CHRISTIANSTED — A man is facing charges after drugs and a firearm were found inside a vehicle that had failed to stop at a red light near the Christiansted Bypass in St. Croix on Wednesday night.
Kaheem Roberts, 39, of Mon Bijou, was arrested and charged with carrying of a firearm;
openly or concealed, possession of ammunition, and failure to register a firearm, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The Special Operations Bureau (SOB) was conducting saturated patrol in the Christiansted area, at the traffic light intersection by Contentment Road about 9:57 p.m. when an officer observed a white four door vehicle fail to stop at the red light, according to the VIPD.
The driver of the vehicle was stopped by a police officer near the Pickard Trade Center. The driver and sole occupant, identified as Kaheem Roberts, appeared very nervous, police said.
When asked if he had anything illegal inside of his vehicle, Roberts handed a Crown Royal sack to the officer which had several clear vials and a clear sandwich bag, all with what appeared to be a green leafy substance in them, VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
When asked if there was anything else illegal inside of the vehicle, Roberts did not answer. He was ordered out of the vehicle and frisked. A search of the vehicle was conducted and inside a black and grey Coach crossbody bag, a Glock 26 .40 Caliber handgun with a chip was discovered, according to Chichester.
Bail for Roberts was set at $50,000.00. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
Roberts is an habitual offender on St. Croix. He was stopped driving a white Acura with tinted windows and no front license plate near St. Joseph Catholic High School in Frederiksted in September of 2021, according police.
An officer noticed a “green leafy substance” inside a clear sandwich bag near the car’s gearshift, according to a probable cause fact sheet. When questioned on the smell of marijuana in the car, Roberts said, “I don’t smoke in the car,” and grabbing the sandwich bag, told officers “you can go with it.”
The officer told Roberts to get out of the car and that a search would be conducted. As Roberts was standing, a second officer saw him reach toward his waistband to grab what appeared to be a firearm, Superior Court records show.
The officer commanded him to drop the gun, and upon doing so, he was detained by police, according to the probable cause fact sheet,
During the search, officers found 140.8 grams of marijuana, 35 .40-caliber rounds and one 10 mm round. Roberts was carrying a 10 mm Glock 29 handgun, court records indicate.