Mugshot of Chad JnoFinn. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — An illegal immigrant who attempted to push his wife’s truck down a hill despite police orders to the contrary is now facing felony domestic violence charges.
On Sunday morning just after 7:30 a.m., police were summoned to a residence in Frydenhoj for assistance. Upon arrival they met with a woman who asked for help in retrieving some items from her husband, Chad JnoFinn. She said that while he lives in the home with her and her son, she is now fearful for her safety and that of her infant, and wants him to leave.
According to court documents, she told police that her car was currently not working, and that recently her neighbor offered to give her a ride to work. However, the woman said her husband did not want her to go and allegedly took the baby who was strapped into a car seat, and placed the child on the ground in front of the neighbor’s vehicle. The woman also said that JnoFinn has threatened her with harm several times before, resulting in multiple police reports.
She noted that the couple’s material possessions were listed in her name – apartment, bank accounts, and several vehicles, as well as a water delivery business. The woman asked police to help her retrieve the keys to one of the vehicles from her husband, who was on the scene.
For his part, JnoFinn admitted to not having legal status in the territory, telling officers that this was why he did not have any assets listed in his name. He had done the work to operationalize their water delivery business, he said, while his wife was on bed rest. She handled the finances in both their professional and personal lives, JnoFinn said.
Regarding the vehicle, the husband told officers that he had paid for it, and that it was currently serving as his bedroom so he could avoid interacting with his wife. JnoFinn told officers that because his wife controlled the purse strings, he is required to ask for funds on a regular basis. He offered to move out provided his wife signs the water truck over to a third party, he told officers, but she had thus far refused to do so.
When police asked JnoFinn for the keys to the vehicle, they say he refused, and left in the truck, stopping on the edge of a downhill embankment. The officers who followed him watched as he got out of the vehicle and began pushing it over the edge of the hill. A small tree stopped the vehicle’s descent, and JnoFinn ignored the shouted orders to stop as he worked to snap the thin tree and dislodge the vehicle. He reportedly succeeded in doing so, and the vehicle rolled down, coming to rest on a construction site at the bottom of the hill.
JnoFinn reportedly then climbed back up the side of the embankment to meet the police, demanding that he now be taken to jail. Officers complied, arresting him for destruction of property as a crime of domestic violence. He was remanded into custody to await his advice of rights hearing.
In court on Monday, Magistrate Paula Norkaitis set bail at $1000, which was paid. Now, JnoFinn must stay at least 20 feet away from his wife at all times, must abide by a daily curfew from 9:00 a.m. pm to 6:00 a.m., and may not possess firearms, ammunition or any other dangerous weapons while he is on pre-trial release.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 13.
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