CHARLOTTE AMALIE — An illegal alien from Tortola was driving a motorcycle around St. Thomas carrying a loaded Glock 23, ammo and drugs.
Authorities didn’t know that until Ashan Randolph Westcott crashed his motorbike into a passing vehicle on Turpentine Run Road at 2:44 p.m. on March 2, U.S. District Court records indicate.
After Westcott crashed, the native of Road Town, British Virgin Islands was taken by ambulance to the Schneider Regional Medical Center where he was treated for the injuries he sustained.
Virgin Islands Police Department investigators at the scene removed a brown backpack from Westcott’s left shoulder and placed it in a marked police vehicle at the scene, a sworn federal affidavit said.
Trying to find identification, police at the scene opened the backpack and discovered a loaded Glock 23 – .40 caliber handgun and two marijuana vials, the federal court documents said.
Once at the hospital, alert VIPD investigators found identification in the clothing cut off Westcott by EMTs at the accident scene.
A check of law enforcement databases determined that Westcott was born on Tortola and had allegedly illegally emigrated here from the BVI.
On Friday, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) task officer charged Westcott with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, according to court records.
A detention hearing is set for tomorrow in U.S. District Court in St. Thomas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller.
Where Westcott is from, Road Town, Tortola, guns are strictly forbidden.
People living in the BVI heavily criticize the U.S. Virgin Islands for its gun policies and gun crimes.
The Glock 23 is a .40-caliber weapon designed to carry a magazine with 13 rounds of ammunition in its chamber. It can carry up to 22 rounds of ammunition.
It is available online at Bass Pro Shops for $599.99.
–The Virgin Islands Daily News contributed to this report.