Mugshot of Perry Henderson. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — A man who allegedly tailgated and then assaulted another man, who was falsely accused of driving a stolen vehicle, is now facing several charges in court.
According to court documents, early last Friday morning, police officers were dispatched to investigate a reported disturbance in the Beeston Hill area of Christiansted. As they were leaving the Ancilmo Marshall police station, they saw a man walking towards them with what appeared to be blood on his face. He informed them that he had been hit by a vehicle near the Beeston Hill gym, prompting the officers to summon emergency medical services to assist him.
Sometime afterwards, another man – Perry Henderson – arrived at the police station. Henderson told officers that someone had stolen his vehicle. The bleeding man identified Henderson as the person who had struck him with the vehicle.
Police asked Henderson what had happened. He told them that his vehicle had been stolen, but he was reluctant to provide more details, saying that doing so might incriminate him.
Police then went to the injured man, who was receiving treatment at the Juan F. Luis hospital. He provided them with a statement, indicating that he was driving near the Tide Village service station traveling west, when he noticed a vehicle tailgating him. He then drove east along the Christiansted Bypass, and when he got near Contentment Road, stopped completely to allow the vehicle tailing him to pass. It also stopped, and thus the man said he decided to drive west again. However the vehicle, a black Ford Escape, collided with him while he was driving towards Beeston Hill gym.
Both vehicles came to a stop, and both men exited. Henderson reportedly accused the other man of vehicle theft. When the man tried to prove to Henderson that he owned the vehicle he was driving, Henderson reportedly put him in a headlock.
The pair fell to the ground, and the man told police that he began to lose consciousness. In a bid to get Henderson to loosen his grip, the man said he bit his assailant’s finger, upon which Henderson reportedly bit his left eye. The man’s attempt to call police was also foiled when Henderson reportedly took his phone and slammed it onto the ground, breaking the device.
Henderson eventually released the other man from the headlock, but reportedly began threatening to kill him. When the man tried to get back to his vehicle, Hendrson reportedly knocked him down with the Escape, before leaving the area.
The man told police that he made several attempts to get help from passing vehicles, but with nobody stopping to assist, he eventually got up and drove to the police station for help. Officers took note of the bite mark on his eye, several broken front teeth, and injuries to the man’s top lip. He also complained of pain in his knees, and in the ribs on the left side of his body.
With Henderson declining to provide any further information to police, he was arrested and charged with first and third-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, and destruction of property. Bail was initially set at $25,000.
In court on Monday, Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross found probable cause to uphold all charges against Mr. Henderson, and increased bail to $75,000. There will be a further bail hearing on Tuesday, with additional court hearings scheduled for July 31.
