CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man is facing charges after allegedly fleeing a traffic stop.
Elijah Penn was arrested and charged with delaying and obstructing, as well as disobeying a lawful order, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began as officers were conducting traffic enforcement on Kommandants Gade Friday evening when they spotted a red Jeep SUV with a fully tinted windshield and an expired registration sticker, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Elijah Penn of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The driver, Elijah Penn, was stopped and told to pull over, police said.
According to the police report, he began to merge to the left as if to comply with the officers’ order, but then made a sudden, sharp right turn and accelerated quickly back onto the roadway.
Penn then overtook a vehicle and left the scene of the traffic stop, police said.
The officers followed in their marked police vehicle, according to police.
They found the suspect near Norre Gade, stopped in traffic in front of the St. Thomas Federal Credit Union, police said.
Penn was ultimately stopped and promptly arrested, charged with offenses related to fleeing the traffic stop. He was also cited for the original infraction, the illegally tinted windscreen, according to police.
Following the arrest, Penn paid the initial $500 bail. He appeared in court on Monday for his advice-of-rights hearing.
However, Superior Court Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull did not find probable cause for the charge of disobeying orders.
The judge also modified bail to require only the posting of $100 in cash, with the remaining $400 as an unsecured bond.
Penn must now report to the probation office in person each week, and may not leave the island without the court’s written permission.
