Mugshot of Kareem Casimir. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — A man found towing a stolen jet ski is facing felony charges in court.
Court documents state that on March 26, a man called 911 saying that he was following a vehicle which was traveling on Veterans Drive, towing a jet ski the caller said had been stolen from him about a week prior.
Responding officers were able to execute a traffic stop of the suspicious vehicle on Lover’s Lane. The jet ski owner was also present, and told them that the jet ski had been stolen from the Anna’s Retreat area. The theft had not yet been reported, said the man, because he had still been trying to determine who had taken his jet ski.
The driver of the vehicle that had been towing the jet ski, Kareem Casimir, told officers that he had bought it from someone for $3,000. The seller had reportedly told him that the ownership documents were inside the vehicle, but when asked, Casimir was unable to produce the paperwork. Police noted that the jet ski’s engine had been detached and was in the trunk of Casimir’s vehicle.
According to court documents, Casimir told police that he did not know the man who had reportedly sold him the jet ski, and does not have any contact information for him. Officers asked him to come in for a recorded interview a few days later, but at the assigned time on March 29, Casimir was reportedly a no-show. Calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.
A third man, who said that he was with Casimir when the jet ski seller made his proposal, also did not turn up to his scheduled meeting with police. An attempt at rescheduling the interview was also futile, officers say.
After further interviewing the owner of the jetski, police got in touch with Casimir over the phone, and advised him to surrender himself at the Richard Callwood Command. He reportedly agreed to do so during the June 5 phone call, but by June 10, when he had not yet turned up, a wanted poster was published. That same night, Casimir presented himself at the police station, where he was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a vessel, damaging and tampering with a vehicle, and possession of stolen property. He was then remanded into custody to await his first court appearance.
On Monday, Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull ordered that Casimir be set free ahead of trial upon the payment of $500 in cash as part of his bail requirements. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 28.
