Mugshot of Jamari Gumbs. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — With five active felony cases still working their way through the territory’s court system, Jamari Gumbs has added a sixth matter to his list of legal woes after being arrested on felony gun charges yet again.
It was just before 5:00 a.m. on Saturday when an officer traveling west on Frenchman Bay Road came across a silver Ford Bronco at the Mandela Circle and Wendy’s intersection. Although the light was green, the vehicle was not moving. After passing the vehicle, the officer slowed down and noticed that the Bronco still had not shifted from its position. As such, he decided to double back and check on the welfare of the driver.
Another police vehicle pulled up at the same time, with that officer noting that he had been dispatched to perform the same duty after receiving a call. Both officers approached the vehicle, and after knocking on the windows several times with no response, they decided to open the front passenger door.
Police say that’s when the driver, identified as Jamari Gumbs, woke up, asking, “what happened?” The officers asked whether he was fit to drive, to which he responded in the affirmative. While speaking with Gumbs, police say they detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and also spotted several small zipper bags in a larger clear plastic bag on the floor of the jeep. However, Gumbs reportedly denied having any weapons, contraband or narcotics in his possession, telling officers that what they saw in the vehicle did not belong to him.
He then reportedly allowed police to search the vehicle, and denied ownership of the black backpack they found in the trunk, which contained a disassembled assault rifle and a 60-round magazine which contained 40 rounds of ammunition. Three of those rounds were reportedly armor piercing bullets. Forensics found another weapon in the vehicle when they conducted their search - a 9mm Glock 26 with 9 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. This gun was found in a small bag behind the driver’s seat - within reaching distance, police said.
Gumbs was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a machine gun, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of armor-piercing ammunition, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
He appeared in court on Monday for his advice of rights hearing, where probable cause was not found for the machine gun charge and it was dropped from the matter. The other charges were upheld however, and Gumbs was released from custody and ordered to return to court on Wednesday, when formal bail and pretrial release conditions will be set by the court.
Last year, Gumbs was arrested on at least five previous occasions, three of which involved unlawful firearm possession. All of these cases are, according to public records, still actively winding their way through the courts.
