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Traffic Stop Leads to Firearm Possession Arrest

V.I. Police officers on a traffic stop Saturday night discovered a weapon in the vehicle and arrested 21-year-old Sylvester Christopher of Estate Sion Farm on a firearms charge, the police reported.

According to the VIPD, at about 8:11 p.m. Oct. 31, officers assigned to the Virgin Islands Crime Initiative conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the vicinity of Hannah’s Rest Plaza. During the traffic stop, the passenger in the vehicle, identified as Christopher, was found with a loaded firearm on his person.

After verifying that Christopher did not have a license to carry a firearm, he was placed under arrest, police said.

Christopher was charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm and possession or sale of ammunition. Bail was set at $50,000. Unable to post bail, he was turned over to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending his advice of rights hearing.

The V.I. Crime Initiative is a data-driven attempt to identify where and when violent crimes tend to take place and by whom, and to allocate personnel to try to avert it.

St. Croix District Police Chief Sidney Elskoe commended the officers of the Virgin Islands Crime Initiative for taking another firearm off the streets.

“We will continue to find and confiscate these illegal guns, and arrest those who possess them,” Elskoe said.

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