CRUZ BAY — A St. John man faces assault charges after police say he threw a man’s beer to the ground and hit him with a stick, causing injuries.
Oswin Richards, 58, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. Friday and charged with third-degree assault, aggravated assault, disturbance of the peace, hate motivated crime and simple assault, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The charges stem from a March 15 incident when a victim told an officer at the Leander Jurgen Command at 10:15 p.m. that he was assaulted by Richards in St. John, according to the VIPD.
PHOTO CAPTION: VIPD mugshot of Oswin Richards, 58, of St. John.
The man said that he was in Cruz Bay when Richards approached him and “threw down his beer,” VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
“The male stated that Mr. Richards then began to thrust a wooden stick at him and later struck him in the head causing injuries,” according to Chichester.
Bail for Richards was set at $25,000.00. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court.
This case is currently under active investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Anyone with any information about this crime is urged to contact 911, Criminal Investigation Bureau Detective J. Carty 340-693-8880 ext. 5207 or Detective S. Rhymer at 340-774-2211 ext. 5572 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.