77.9 F
Cruz Bay
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsPolice & CourtsCrime Initiative Nets Marijuana Arrest

Crime Initiative Nets Marijuana Arrest

Officers attached to the V.I. Police Department’s Crime Initiative arrested a St. Thomas man Wednesday evening.

According to the VIPD news release, Peter John Francis, Jr., age 30, of Estate Frydenhoj was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

The Crime Initiative program was titled 10-Day Rush 2. Officers conducted intelligence-led saturated patrols in the Red Hook and surrounding areas, where they found Francis in possession of more than the personal use limits of marijuana.

St. Thomas/St. John/Water Islands Chief of Police Steven Phillip commended the officers for the arrest and the confiscation of the controlled substance.

“We will continue this Virgin Islands Crime Initiative in our efforts to get drugs and guns off our streets,” Phillip said.

According to Public Information Officer Toby Derima, the Virgin Islands Crime Initiative is a focused, information and intelligence-led approach to identify violent offender and violent crimes affecting Virgin Islanders.

“The strategy involved using data and intelligence to identify potential violators. This information was acquired from our Intelligence Unit and the Planning and Research Bureau. Officers and crime analysts worked to create intelligence-driven analytics to identify the ‘right” people,’ the ‘trigger pullers’ for criminal prosecution,” Derima said.

Officers in each district were selected to work for the crime initiative team, Derima said. Police look at the days of the week and the times of the day that shootings occurred and locations of shooting incidents in attempt to optimize their resources. Additionally, the team conducted traffic stops that lead to more serious charges, including felons in possession of firearms.

Police urged citizens to continue calling the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477 (1-800-222-TIPS).

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.