Mugshot of Kassahun Stapleton-Harris. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. JOHN – A man who was once employed at a car rental company in St. John is now facing felony charges after driving off with one of the vehicles for hire.
On Sunday afternoon, police were dispatched to Cool Breeze Car Rental to investigate reports of a stolen vehicle. They met with the supervisor on duty who told them that about half an hour earlier, a worker at a different establishment saw Kassahun Stapleton-Harris leaving the Cool Breeze parking lot in a Jeep Wrangler that was either green or turquoise in color. Someone had called in to say that the vehicle was heading towards Coral Bay.
The supervisor informed officers that Stapleton-Harris had been a Cool Breeze employee, but no longer worked there and did not have permission to use the vehicles.
After a fruitless initial search that afternoon, police said the vehicle was eventually discovered at around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday in the Bordeaux Mountain area. On Tuesday, Stapleton-Harris was present at the Leander Jurgen Command police station, although documents submitted to court are unclear on whether he had been apprehended and detained or presented himself of his own volition.
He was reportedly informed that he was a “person in question” with regards to the Cool Breeze stolen vehicle investigation. Although Stapleton-Harris allegedly refused to sign off on his Miranda warning, police said he spontaneously admitted that he did take the vehicle, apparently because he needed to take a shower.
The VIPD said its officers faced some difficulty in arresting Stapleton-Harris, with four officers needed to handcuff him after he reportedly refused to cooperate. Eventually, he was secured with the cuffs, and officers transported him to St. Thomas where he was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, and interfering with an officer discharging his duties. He was then remanded into custody to await his advice of rights hearing.
In court on Wednesday, Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull issued a pre-trial release order, the details of which have not yet been made available to the public as of press time. The next court appearance for Stepleton-Harris is scheduled for April 19.
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