CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A man was arrested on gun and drug charges after being pulled over for excessively tinted windows while driving on Rumer Drive in St. Thomas.
Jerome van Beverhoudt was arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm while in the commission of a crime, possession of an unlicensed firearm within 1,000 feet of a housing community, possession of illegal ammunition, possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, possession of narcotics with intent to distribute with 1,000 ft of a housing community and possession of drug paraphernalia, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Police also cited van Beverhoudt for the traffic offense of having excessive tint.
Officers on patrol on Rumer Drive spotted a black Honda traveling north with heavily tinted windows, according to the VIPD. They initiated a traffic stop as it turned left onto First Avenue.
As police approached the driver, Jerome Vanbeverhoudt, they reported a strong scent of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle, court records indicate.
Recording the interaction, police asked van Beverhoudt for his documents and asked about the source of the marijuana scent, according to a sworn police affidavit.
Van Beverhoudt claimed that he had not been smoking, but just had just “a little bit” of marijuana in the vehicle, pointing to a black shoe box on the back seat, the probable cause fact sheet states.
At that point, officers asked asked van Beverhoudt to step out of the vehicle and patted him down for weapons, police said.
Although the suspect denied having any weapons, either on his person or in his vehicle, he informed officers that he did not have a license to carry firearms, according to police.
Police say at that point that van Beverhoudt began pacing nervously, and told them that he was “upset” by their line of questioning.
One officer began searching inside the Honda and almost immediately spotted the point of a black gun under the driver’s seat, court records indicate.
Van Beverhoudt was then arrested, and a forensics team was called in while the search of his vehicle continued, the probable cause fact sheet states.
Along with the firearm, which was identified as a Glock 17 with a fully-loaded magazine, police found eight small glass jars containing an amber-colored, waxy cannabis product in the trunk, and in the shoebox discovered a scale, sandwich bags, and a total of over two ounces of marijuana, the sworn police affidavit says.
Bail for van Beverhoudt was set at $57,500. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the St. Thomas jail pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
Superior Court Magistrate Paula Norkaitis ruled Monday that van Beverholdt be allowed to post 10 percent of his bail amount in cash to secure his release ahead of trial.
Van Beverhoudte is restricted to maintain residence in the St. Thomas/St. John district and is required to report to the probation office every week by phone.
He was also required to surrender his passport and driver’s license, and must have “no social media contact regarding this case,” according to the court.