FREDERIKSTED — New details emerged in court about the St. Croix man charged with an assault at a housing community in Grove Place last month.
Iran Maldonado, 31, surrendered to police on multiple charges related to the theft of a vehicle at Lorraine Village Apartments, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Maldonado was wanted by police on charges of destruction to property; brandishing, exhibiting or use of a deadly weapon; unauthorized use of a vehicle; third-degree assault and aggravated assault turned himself into law enforcement on March 14, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Iran Maldonado, 31, on St. Croix.
Police issued a wanted notice for Iran Maldonado after an officer was dispatched to a Lorraine Village apartment in Grove Place on March 13.
Once there, officers met with the caller, who told them Maldonado took her vehicle without permission after an argument, according to Superior Court documents.
Police later located the vehicle and Maldonado in the Candido Guadalupe Terrace housing project.
A registration check of the 2005 Dodge Neon showed that the license plate belonged to a 2007 red Hyundai Tucson and the sticker registration belonged to a 1995 Ford Ranger.
Maldonado was told by officers that the vehicle would be impounded.
At that point, Maldonado became “irate” and removed the car’s battery before flattening one of the tires with a knife, according to a probable cause fact sheet filed in court.
Asked to stop by a police officer, Maldonado then allegedly began approaching the officer with a knife before being held back by another man present.
Maldonado turned himself in at the Ann Schrader Command Police Station and was placed under arrest without incident.
The suspect appeared at an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court the next morning.