John McCarthy
By: Virgin Islands Free Press News Desk
ESTATE CASTLE COAKLEY — A St. Croix man with a history of property crime cases is back behind bars after allegedly smashing through the glass doors of a local gas station to loot the business, court records show.
David Jakubens was arrested on July 30, 2026, following an investigation into a break-in at the WMJR Service Station located at #36 Estate Castle Coakley.
According to sworn court documents filed by the V.I. Department of Justice, Jakubens allegedly shattered the front glass entrance door of the business on July 12, 2026. Once inside, he allegedly forced his way into an interior office—damaging the door and locking mechanism—before stealing personal property valued at under $500.
Jakubens has been formally charged in V.I. Superior Court with:
- Burglary in the Third Degree (14 V.I.C. § 444(1))
- Petit Larceny (14 V.I.C. § 1084(a) & (b))
- Destruction of Other Property (14 V.I.C. § 1266)
History of Similar Cases & Bail Battle
During his initial appearance on Friday, July 31, before Magistrate Judge Yolan Brow Ross, prosecutors requested strict bail terms and a third-party custodian, explicitly citing Jakubens’ prior “history of similar cases”.
Defense counsel Michael Rogers pushed back against the strict conditions, pointing out that Jakubens’ most recent arrest was over ten years old.
Magistrate Judge Brow Ross set bail at $25,000. Under the ordered bail conditions, Jakubens must post $500 in cash and sign the remaining amount as an unsecured bond with an approved third-party custodian. Jakubens entered a plea of not guilty and requested a speedy jury trial.
The Judicial Recusal Twist
The case took an unexpected turn shortly after arraignment when it was assigned to Superior Court Judge Ernest E. Morris, Jr.
On Friday afternoon, Judge Morris issued an official Notice of Recusal, stepping away from the case entirely under 4 V.I.C. § 284(4). In the filing, Judge Morris stated that he could not preside over the matter because he is personally “familiar with the owner of the business that was allegedly burglarized from long association”.
Notice of the recusal was officially entered on Monday morning, sending the case file back to the Clerk of the Court for reassignment to another judge. A discovery conference in the case has been slated for October 21, 2026.
