Mugshot of Talibe Suleiman By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — A man selling drinks on the roadside near the old Hovensa training school on the Melvin Evans Highway was allegedly kidnaped by a childhood friend Wednesday afternoon, taken to a location on the west side of St. Croix and assaulted.
The 911 Emergency Call Center was notified of the incident at about 1:25 p.m. by a family member of the victim, according to St. Croix Police Chief Sean Santos. He said the victim, who sustained a laceration to the forehead, was transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital, treated and released. The victim was located by police at Lorraine Village Apartments with family members, the chief said.
The alleged aggressor was later identified as Talibe Suleiman, age 25 of Clifton Hill. He was arrested at 6:28 p.m. and charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Unable to make bail of $75,000, Suleiman was remanded to the Golden Grove Correctional Facility pending his advisement hearing.
Chief Santos thanked members of the community who came forward with information that resulted in the quick apprehension. “We have the ability to close these cases very quickly when the community assists. Let’s keep up the collaboration, and we can make our islands safer,” Chief Santos said. He encouraged the community to contact the VIPD with information on crimes by calling 911, the Crime TipLine at (340) 778-4950, or Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS.
Correction: Thursday Oct. 21, 2021
A previous version of this story based on information provided by law enforcement stated that the alleged aggressor in this incident, Talibe Suleiman, was a brother of the victim. Family members of the victim reached out to the Consortium to correct the record, stating that the aggressor and the victim were childhood friends, not siblings. We've updated the story to reflect the correct information.
