ST. THOMAS – A day after his arrest on charges of sexually assaulting two blood relatives, a man was arrested again on charges that he attacked and seriously injured another inmate of the Bureau of Corrections.
Rehelio Trant was arrested on last Tuesday following the issuance of a Superior Court warrant on eight counts of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse against two blood relatives. Details of the alleged offenses have not yet been released to the public by authorities.
However, BOC officials say that just after 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the officer on duty was alerted by someone shouting. Inmates in Units 5 and 6 had just been let out of their cells for the morning, and Trant had been sitting in the day room, apparently watching television in the communal space. When the shout came, the officer — having been unable to ascertain what was going on due to downed cameras — went into unit 5 and found Trant in another inmate’s cell. He was holding a homemade knife in one hand, while the other inmate was lying on the top bunk bleeding, clutching his neck, and shouting for help.
Mugshot of Rehelio Trant (Credit: The Virgin Islands Police Department)
Trant was ordered out of the cell and went back into the day room, still holding the weapon. The lone correctional officer called for backup, equipped himself with a shield, and returned to handle the situation. The knife-wielding inmate was disarmed, handcuffed, and returned to his cell while the injured inmate was taken to the Schneider Regional Medical Center for treatment, where he remains due to the severity of his injuries.
Trant was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault, third-degree assault, possessing a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence, and possessing dangerous contraband.
An advice of rights hearing was reportedly held for Trant, however the results of the proceeding before Magistrate Julie Smith Todman had not been made available to the public as of press time.
Trant’s arraignment on the assault charges has been scheduled for February 13. There is currently no public information on the matter involving the sex crime charges against him.
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