Crime

Tourist Assault in Christiansted Renews Concern Over Mental Illness, Homelessness, and Public Safety

ST. CROIX — An assault case in Christiansted involving an off-island visitor has reignited concern on St. Croix about public safety, untreated mental illness, and homelessness, after a man accused of striking a tourist with a pipe was ordered to undergo psychological and psychiatric evaluation. Kaleem Fraites appeared before Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross on Wednesday, where the court granted his attorney’s oral motion for a mental health evaluation. Pending the outcome of that report, he is expected to return to court on June 3. The case stems from an incident reported just before noon Tuesday. Police went to the Juan F. Luis Hospital to meet with a man who said he had been assaulted. According to police, the man told officers that he and his girlfriend were walking along the road at Basin Triangle, near the Ancilmo Marshall Command police station, when they saw Fraites approaching. He was reportedly holding two pipes and swinging one of them over his head. The man’s girlfriend told p...