CRUZ BAY — Police are investigating after a man was beaten so badly in St. John authorities thought he’d been run over by a car.
The case began at 1:02 a.m., Sunday when officers from the Leander Jurgen Command were notified of an assault near Jacob’s Ladder in St. John, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Officers in St. John were dispatched to the area of Jacob’s Ladder in reference to a report of a male that appeared to have been struck by a vehicle,” VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester explained.
CIB detectives in St. Thomas were notified at 7:59 a.m. Sunday that the crime had occurred and then responded, according to the VIPD.
“Upon their arrival, contact was made with a Caucasian male who had sustained multiple injuries about his body after being assaulted by multiple individuals,” Chichester said. “The male was then transported to the Schneider Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.”
The Virgin Islands Free Press confirmed the hours-long gap between patrol officers arriving on the crime scene and then detectives being dispatched seven hours later.
VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte told the V.I. Freep tonight that an internal review will be conducted by police to ensure that all local policies and procedures were correctly followed in this case.
Screenshot of thread from Facebook tonight
Meanwhile, residents of St. John expressed general dissatisfaction tonight with the level of professionalism evinced by officers assigned to duty on the smallest Virgin Island with a peace force.
“The people who live on St. John are sadly just easy pickings these days,” Brian Granite said on Facebook. “Thugs clearly know that any crime they commit on St. John will most certainly be investigated in a amateur manner and go unsolved. They are free to do what they want. It’s a sad state of affairs. No police officers, just Keystone Kops.”
“There were definitely three to four cop cars with their lights on at the top of Jacob’s Ladder at 1:00 to 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning when I was getting home from work,” Casey Retzer said. “Not sure where this whole seven hours narrative is coming from.”
“This is a heart breaking moment,” Kimberly Neal said. “We met the parents today. They are going through a lot and expressed their appreciation to the Police Commissioner and the St Thomas Police Department. Their son is being well taken care of but in critical condition. It’s a scary time for these people. Prayers for them all 
.”
Police have no suspects as of yet and are urgently asking the public to call in tips.
This case is currently under active investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Anyone with any information regarding this crime is urged to contact 911, the Criminal Investigation
Bureau at 340-693-8880 ext. 5207 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.
