Mugshot of Kishawn Castor . Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — After tearful testimony from his third-party custodian, a judge has set reduced bail for Kishawn Castor, the man arrested after a police chase following a traffic stop on Tuesday.
Castor was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of firearm within 1000 feet of a school, possession of ammunition, delaying and obstructing, reckless endangerment, and destruction of government property. If the government secures convictions on all counts, Castor could be sentenced to over twenty years in jail.
His legal troubles began on March 1, when officers conducting traffic enforcement on Frenchman Bay Road attempted to pull over the silver Honda Civic Castor was driving, near the intersection to Frenchman Bay Cove. According to the police, the car slowed at first before abruptly accelerating, speeding past the approaching officer. The officers pursued in their police unit, emergency lights flashing, as Castor veered in and out of his lane, causing near collisions in the afternoon traffic.
Police chased Castor down the dead end between the Paul M. Pearson Gardens Housing Community and Lucina A. Millin Nursing Home, where the fleeing suspect reportedly abandoned his vehicle while it was still in motion. The unpiloted Civic crashed into the front gate of the Virgin Islands Housing Authority while Castor tried to escape across the parking lot of the nursing home, heading west with officers in hot pursuit.
The foot chase continued across property owned by Lima Enterprise and onto a residential lot. Police say they saw Castor reach into the brown cross-body satchel he was wearing, pull out a black handgun, and then discarded the bag into the bushes. They say after being ordered several times to drop the weapon, he threw it into the bushes as well, but continued running towards the house, and around the back.
Officers say Castor somehow navigated the 15 to 20 foot drop off the driveway without injury, but subsequently got entangled in the vegetation below. Finally, officers say he surrendered and was arrested.
The firearm was retrieved and found to be a Sig Sauer P320 9mm, with a magazine containing 15 rounds of ammunition. One 9mm cartridge was in the chamber of the weapon. Another filled 9 mm magazine was found in Castor’s discarded satchel. At the time of his arrest, bail was set at $91,000.
However in court on Friday, the presiding judge ordered it lowered to $50,000 and allowed Castor the opportunity to post 10 percent of it in cash to secure his release. Her distress obvious, his proposed third-party custodian nevertheless satisfied the court with her answers to the questions posed of her, and was approved. Upon his release, Kishawn Castor will be restricted to the district of St. Thomas/St. John, and required to report to the probation office by telephone each week.
He will be required to abide by a daily 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew, and is prohibited from consuming alcohol, or controlled substances. Castor is also barred from possessing any firearms or ammunition whatsoever.
Advertisements
