ST. THOMAS — A cellphone allegedly dropped during an attempted armed robbery on Palm Strade helped police identify a suspect who, while officers were still investigating the scene, had gone to a police station claiming that he himself had just been robbed.
Karriem Stubbs was arrested Thursday after investigators connected the phone recovered at the scene to him and began questioning inconsistencies in his account of being attacked elsewhere. He now faces multiple robbery, assault, larceny and firearm charges.
According to court documents, police were dispatched to Palm Strade at approximately 10:27 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, following reports that a man had been robbed at gunpoint. At the scene, officers spoke with a man who showed them remnants of a broken gold chain and turned over a cellphone that had fallen during the robbery and ensuing struggle.
While officers were still investigating, they received a call from the Richard N. Callwood Command advising that Stubbs was at the police station reporting that he had just been the victim of an armed robbery.
Investigators soon connected the recovered phone to Stubbs after its lock screen displayed his image.
The owner of the broken chain accompanied officers to the station and described being approached by a “short, stocky male” who allegedly brandished what appeared to be a handgun and attempted to rob him.
According to the man, the assailant struck him with the firearm while trying to snatch the gold chain from his neck. He resisted, leading to a physical struggle during which he said he body-slammed the assailant to the ground while the man continued striking him in the head with the weapon.
The chain eventually broke and the alleged assailant fled, leaving the cellphone behind.
The victim showed police scratches to his neck and told investigators that he believed the person who attacked him would also have sustained injuries during their struggle.
Stubbs, meanwhile, gave police a substantially different account. He said two men had approached him, with one remaining at a distance while the other grabbed him and tried to rob him. Stubbs told investigators that he broke free and fled, dropping his cellphone during the encounter.
According to police, Stubbs described running through residential yards, jumping gates and traveling up and down several stairways without a clear destination before remembering that his stepfather lived near Princess Gade in Hospital Ground and heading there.
Investigators became skeptical of that account.
Despite Stubbs’ description of a frantic escape and the distance he claimed to have covered between Catherineberg and Hospital Ground, police noted that he did not appear winded, exhausted or sweaty. His clothing and body also reportedly showed none of the signs investigators expected from someone who said he had run through yards and vegetation.
Police also said Stubbs was unable to provide a clear and consistent description of the route he supposedly traveled.
Officers later took him back to the area where he claimed the attempted robbery had occurred, but Stubbs was allegedly unable to definitively identify the location or make contact with the friend he said he had been visiting before the encounter.
When Stubbs returned Thursday to retrieve his cellphone, he was instead arrested.
He was charged with first- and second-degree robbery, first- and third-degree assault, grand larceny and five counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm. Stubbs was remanded into custody pending his Advice of Rights hearing.
During his Friday court appearance, Magistrate Judge Simone VanHolten-Turnbull found probable cause to sustain all of the charges against him.
Stubbs’ original $75,000 bail was modified to permit his release upon payment of $1,500 in cash, with the remaining amount secured through an unsecured bond.
Now released pending further court proceedings, Stubbs must report in person to the probation office twice weekly, surrender his passport and comply with the other standard conditions of pretrial release imposed by the court.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 16.
