🏛️ COURT WATCH: St. Croix Man Facing Weapons Charges Following Weekend Domestic Incident
HELD ON BAIL: Hubert Charles, 69, in an official booking photograph following his weekend arrest on St. Croix for unauthorized firearm possession. (Photo courtesy of VIPD)
By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun Staff Writer
FREDERIKSTED — A 69-year-old St. Croix man is being held at the John A. Bell Correctional Facility on a $50,000 cash bail after being arrested during a violent domestic dispute over the weekend.
Hubert Charles appeared in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on Monday morning for an Advice of Rights hearing before Judge Yolan C. Brow Ross in Courtroom CR-103. Charles faces formal criminal charges under local code section 14 V.I.C. 2256(a), which governs the unauthorized possession or use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
According to the Virgin Islands Police Department, the incident began on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at approximately 11:39 a.m. A female resident contacted the 911 Emergency Call Center requesting an emergency police escort to her home, reporting that a male acquaintance was acting violently and was in possession of a firearm.
Responding police officers deployed to the residence and made contact with Charles. During a search of the interior premises, officers successfully recovered a firearm. Police records state that Charles admitted to bringing the weapon into the home. A subsequent records check confirmed that Charles does not possess a valid license to carry a firearm or ammunition within the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Charles was arrested on the scene, booked, and charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition. Unable to post the required $50,000.00 bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending his Monday morning court appearance.
Charles was represented during Monday’s initial proceedings by the Office of the Territorial Public Defender, with the Virgin Islands Department of Justice representing the prosecution.
