ST. THOMAS — More than $441,000 worth of cellphones, generators, batteries and other equipment was stolen from a One Communications warehouse on St. Thomas during an August burglary in which a masked intruder bypassed security measures, gained access to a company vehicle and used it to remove hundreds of devices from the facility, according to police.
The August 17 break-in resulted in reported losses totaling $441,937.34, making it a substantial theft of telecommunications equipment. Nearly three months later, investigators have connected a small portion of the missing inventory to a St. Thomas man who allegedly arranged for 10 stolen iPhones to be transported to Miami.
According to employee accounts provided to investigators, the intruder entered the warehouse with his face concealed, defeated security measures and obtained access to a vehicle and its keys. He then drove to the inventory storage area, where he reportedly loaded hundreds of cellphones into the vehicle before removing generators and several batteries from a maintenance area.
The suspect also allegedly attempted to conceal his activities by removing a visible security camera before leaving the property in the stolen vehicle. However, police were able to obtain footage from a secondary camera that captured evidence of the incident.
The stolen vehicle remained missing for several weeks before it was discovered on October 3 in an abandoned yard in Anna's Retreat. By then, the vehicle had been emptied of the stolen merchandise.
The reported value of the missing inventory underscored the scale of the burglary, which involved far more than the theft of individual consumer electronics. The missing property included telecommunications equipment and other assets belonging to the company.
A significant development in the investigation occurred on Monday, November 2, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials alerted police after discovering several iPhones with a passenger preparing to board a flight to Miami at Cyril E. King Airport.
Mugshot of Omari Brathwaite (Credit: The Virgin Islands Police Department
When questioned, the passenger reportedly told police that his cousin, 40-year-old Omari Brathwaite, had given him a bag containing 10 iPhones to take to Florida.
During further questioning at the Richard Callwood Command police station, the passenger allegedly disclosed that Brathwaite intended to travel to Miami later in the week, where he would meet his cousin and collect the devices.
Brathwaite arrived at the police station Monday afternoon at the invitation of investigators. During questioning, he reportedly claimed to have purchased the phones from a man he described as Haitian, who was wearing dark clothing and had part of his face concealed.
According to police, Brathwaite said the seller initially wanted $200 for each device but agreed to accept $100 apiece following negotiations. The 10 phones consisted of four iPhone Air models and six iPhone 16 Pro Max devices.
Brathwaite allegedly acknowledged giving the phones to his cousin for transport to Miami, explaining that he intended to retrieve and trade them after arriving in Florida.
Investigators subsequently compared the serial numbers of the 10 phones against the inventory reported stolen during the August 17 warehouse burglary. All 10 matched devices listed among the missing merchandise.
Police valued the recovered phones at a combined $11,590, although Brathwaite claimed to have purchased them for just $1,000.
The recovered devices represent only a small fraction of the $441,937.34 in property reported stolen from the warehouse. The information presented in court does not establish that the remainder of the missing inventory has been recovered.
Following the serial-number confirmation, Brathwaite was arrested and charged with buying or receiving stolen property and grand larceny.
He appeared before Magistrate Judge Julie Smith Todman on Wednesday, November 4, for an advice-of-rights hearing. The magistrate found probable cause to support the charges and set bail at $10,000, requiring 10 percent in cash, with the remaining amount secured through an unsecured bond.
Upon release from detention, Brathwaite will be required to report in person to the probation office twice weekly and comply with other standard conditions of release.
His next court appearance is scheduled for November 20.
