Mugshot of Ajani Prentice. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — A man who allegedly stole a car and then picked up a friend to go to a job interview is now facing his third criminal matter for the year in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
According to court documents, last Thursday morning police were dispatched to a bakery in Lindbergh Bay in reference to sightings of a stolen vehicle. The occupants of the vehicle were reported traveling eastwards on Kronprindsense Gade. Police quickly intercepted the vehicle, and found Ajani Prentice driving, with another man in the passenger seat. Both were detained, while the vehicle’s license plates were processed. The car was determined to belong to someone else, and the two men were arrested and transported to the Richard Callwood Command police station.
Meanwhile, officers spoke to a man who said that he was in Lindberg Bay when he saw his friend’s stolen vehicle traveling down the roadway. After calling the owner to confirm that the vehicle spotted did indeed belong to him, the friend said he called 911 to report the sighting, and when the occupants got into the vehicle and left, the witness said he followed them, keeping 911 operators apprised of the car’s movements.
At the police station, the passenger told police that he was at a bus stop near Oswald Harris Court when he got a ride from Prentice to go to an interview. Along the way, they made a stop near the bakery to get something to eat. The passenger was ultimately released while Prentice was questioned further.
For his part, Prentice said he was cutting grass in the Hospital Ground area earlier this month, when he found a key fob on the ground. A few days later he was back in the area, riding a scooter. As he went along, Prentice says he was pressing the buttons on the key fob in an attempt to locate the vehicle it belonged to. When he found the car, he left the area. On September 19, he gave his acquaintance a right to a job interview. The pair were stopped by the police along the way.
Prentice was arrested and charged for unauthorized use of a vehicle, and remanded into custody to await his advice of rights hearing.
In court on Friday, Magistrate Paula Norkaitis found probable cause to uphold the charge against Prentice, who was arrested earlier this year and charged in the robberies of two minors. In this matter, the judge ordered that he be allowed to post 5% of the $25,000 bail requirement in cash to secure his release from custody. If Prentice is able to pay the $1250 to be released from detention, he will need to report to the probation office twice a week, in person.
He has also been ordered to enroll in night school, after which his probation visits will shift to once every week over the phone, and once in person. Prentice’s midterm reports must be submitted to the probation office as well.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 4.
