Tom Oat, publisher of St. John's weekly newspaper, Tradewinds, was arrested Friday morning after a fracas at the Susannaberg landfill.
Public Works Deputy Commissioner Ira Wade said he summoned police when a fight broke out Friday morning near the landfill security gate. When he reached the scene, he said, he saw Oat threatening the weightmaster, Ralph Titre.
Titre's co-worker Oswald Sealy said he saw Oat "with a big rock" threatening to hit Titre on the head.
According to Wade, the encounter between Oat and Titre stemmed from an earlier incident involving a damaged vehicle that was once used to deliver newspapers.
"Tom Oat came in, and I told him to go see my boss in the office," Titre said. "That's when he started calling me a thief, telling me I tried to steal parts off his Cherokee."
Titre said the publisher then picked up a camera and starting taking his picture. Titre said he asked him to stop, then grabbed the camera. And then, he said, Oat picked up a rock.
Wade, who was in the Public Works office at the site at the time, said he heard the sounds of the commotion and came down into the landfill area. He said he then heard a woman inside Oat's car scream.
Melinda Nelson, a Tradewinds advertising representative, later said she was present at the incident but declined a request to give her version of what had transpired. "As of right now, I cannot," she said.
Police Lt. Rene Garcia of Zone D Command in Cruz Bay said Oat was charged on a citizen's complaint with simple assault and trespassing. The incident occurred around 10 a.m., according to the police report. Garcia said Oat was taken to the Bureau of Corrections office on St. Thomas because the forensics team assigned to St. John on a part-time basis was not on the island Friday to carry out routine arrest procedures such as fingerprinting and photographing.
Bail was set at $1,000. As of mid-afternoon Friday, Oat had not made bail and was still being held on St. Thomas, according to a Tradewinds staff member. All parties to the incident are expected to appear at an advice-of-rights hearing Monday in Territorial Court.
