Mugshot of Shabukah Bannis. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — A woman is facing felony firearms charges after a police found a gun in her car after a traffic stop for a missing license plate.
According to court documents, on Thursday afternoon, a police officer was driving east on Northside road, near Banco Popular, when he saw a black Acura TLX without front license plates heading in the opposite direction. The officer radioed a colleague and turned his marked police unit around and pulled over the vehicle, which reportedly did not have a rear license plate either.
After advising the driver why she had been stopped, Shabukah Bannis reportedly told the officer that she had already been stopped this week for the same issue, and that she just needed screws to affix the plates to the vehicle. The officer was speaking with Ms. Bannis after perusing her paperwork, when he reportedly saw what looked like the butt end of a handgun magazine sticking out from underneath the driver's seat.
Immediately asking Ms. Bannis to step out of the vehicle, the officer then radioed for a female colleague to conduct a search of her person. Once that had been done, the arresting officer checked under the driver's seat of the Acura and reportedly spotted a tan handgun fitted with an extended magazine.
Forensic technicians identified the firearm as a P-80 "ghost gun" with an extended magazine containing 22 rounds of live 9mm ammunition. The gun was reportedly modified with a chip that allows the pistol to operate as an automatic weapon, firing continuously with a single trigger pull.
A registration check revealed that Ms. Bannis did not have a valid license to carry a firearm, and she was promptly arrested. After declining to give a statement, Ms. Bannis was charged with possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition, and remanded into custody to await her advice of rights hearing.
In court on Friday, Magistrate Ernest Morris ruled that there was probable cause to sustain both charges against Ms. Bannis. He set her bail at $50,000 but permitted her release upon payment of $1,500 in cash. The rest of the bail amount will be covered by an unsecured bond, co-signed by Ms. Bannis and her third-party custodian.
Ms. Bannis is next scheduled to appear in court on December 20.
