Mugshot of Livingston Hughes. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — Livingston Hughes is facing a third-degree burglary charge after police say a Fortuna homeowner returned Saturday night with her teenage son and infant daughter to find her residence ransacked and a stranger inside her son’s bedroom.
Officers responding to the reported burglary later encountered Hughes emerging from the teenager’s room completely nude, according to police records. He was taken into custody without further incident.
Police were alerted to a burglary in progress shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15.
When officers arrived at the Fortuna residence, they met the homeowner outside. She told police that the house had been secured when she left earlier that morning.
When she returned at the end of the day with her teenage son and infant daughter, she entered through the front door and immediately realized something was wrong.
The residence was in disarray.
Cereal had been scattered across the dining table, her son’s backpack had been emptied onto the couch, and “Miscellaneous items [were] strewn around the floor,” police records indicate.
The woman told investigators that after seeing the condition of the home, she asked her son: “What’s going on in here?”
A male voice then reportedly responded from the teenager’s bedroom: “Yes mommy, I’m here, come in.”
Knowing that no one was supposed to be inside the residence, the woman said she immediately grabbed her children and left the home.
Police officers then approached the front door, announced their presence and also heard a male voice coming from the son’s bedroom.
Officers repeatedly instructed the individual to leave the room with his hands visible.
After some time, police saw Hughes emerge from the bedroom completely nude. Officers described him in their report as “a heavy-set black male.”
Hughes complied with officers’ commands and was handcuffed without further incident.
As officers continued examining the residence, they reported that every room had been ransacked and left in disarray.
The homeowner told police that she did not know Hughes and had never given him permission to enter the residence.
Investigators believe he entered through an unlocked window.
Hughes was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and a disturbance charge before being remanded into custody pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
Court records indicate that Hughes appeared Monday before Magistrate Simone VanHolten Turnbull. The hearing appears to have been continued until Tuesday morning.
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