V.I. Police Department officers discovered an unlicensed firearm and a large amount of marijuana at a routine traffic stop on Tuesday.
According to VIPD, Craig King, 39, and La’Toya Daniel, 35, were driving a car with a missing license plate and tint on the front windshield and upon pulling the vehicle over, the police smelled marijuana coming from the car. Officers searched the vehicle and found an unlicensed firearm with an obliterated serial number and marijuana, the department stated in a press release.
When questioned about the firearm, neither King nor Daniel took responsibility for the firearm, VIPD said. King was wearing an ankle bracelet from the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands for a previous matter and was in violation of his terms of release, the department said.
Both suspects were arrested for constructive possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to the report, and their bail was set at $75,000 each. After failing to post bond, they were remanded to the Bureau of Corrections.
“Operation Python was a successful initiative over a month ago. We confiscated numerous illegal guns off the streets to include drugs,” St.Thomas-St.John District Police Chief Steven Phillip said. “We are now rolling out Operation Gridlock.”
