CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man smoking marijuana at J’ouvert gave police probable cause to search him and found an illegal gun on his person on Thursday morning, authorities said.
Shemar Coward, 22, of Water Bay Condos, was arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
While the Special Operations Bureau (SOB) Unit officers were conducting inspections of the Carnival J’ouvert in the area of Veterans Drive on Thursday, “it was observed that an Afro-American male was smoking a marijuana cigarette,” VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
When officers made contact with the individual, he was identified as Shemar Coward, who
was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm, according to Chichester.
The SOB Unit then took Coward into official custody at 10:00 a.m. and transported him to the Alexander A. Farrelly Justice Complex where he was arrested, processed and booked, police said.
In June of 2020, Coward was extradited from Baltimore to face charges of armed robbery in St. Thomas, according to police records.
Bail for Coward 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.
This case is currently under active investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Anyone with any information regarding this crime is urged to contact 911, Criminal Investigation Bureau Detective S. Rhymer at 340-774-2211, ext. 5572 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477