Crime

St. Thomas-Based Company Suffers $400K Equipment Theft on St. Croix During Hospital Demolition Project

ST. CROIX — A company contracted to support the demolition of the Charles Harwood Memorial Hospital has reported the theft of heavy equipment valued at over $400,000. The equipment, shipped from St. Thomas for the project, was stolen on two separate occasions from a property located on WAPA-leased land near the V.I. Port Authority's Container Port. According to company representative Marian Prescod, the first theft occurred in March and involved a dump truck, a tractor head, and two lowboys. “Up to now, they haven’t found it,” Ms. Prescod said. A second incident took place more recently. That time, thieves targeted a red Freightliner dump truck and another tractor head. The ignition wires were cut, indicating an attempt to start the vehicles. While the effort failed, the thieves successfully removed and took the batteries. “I suspect they took the batteries to charge them and return to finish what they started,” Ms. Prescod explained. Though the property was initially thought to fall...