Mugshot of Maulique Caines. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — A routine traffic stop on Friday afternoon led to felony drug charges for Maulique Caines. Officers of the Special Operations Bureau were conducting traffic exercises around 5:30 p.m. on Alton Adams Drive near the Legislature bus stop when they noticed a grey Toyota 4Runner with a fully tinted windshield driving west. An officer signaled for the vehicle to stop.
Upon pulling over, officers reported smelling marijuana, which Caines admitted to having smoked earlier. Although initially hesitant to exit the vehicle, Caines complied after being asked a second time. Officers became suspicious when he attempted to reach back into the vehicle while being patted down.
Police subsequently searched the vehicle, finding a transparent plastic bag in the center console containing a "white, rock-like substance." Field tests confirmed the substance as cocaine, totaling approximately 7 grams. The search also uncovered several bags of marijuana candy on the back seat and a black backpack on the front passenger seat containing around 21 grams of a substance that tested positive for marijuana. In addition, an unopened syringe and two vials of an unknown liquid wrapped in white tissue paper were found on the front seat.
Caines was cited for the windshield tint and charged with multiple offenses, including possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Due to the location of his arrest near a church, he faces an additional charge of possessing illegal narcotics with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a church.
In a Monday court appearance, Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull found probable cause sufficient to uphold two charges—distribution/possession of a controlled substance and sale/possession of hypodermic syringes, needles, or other instruments. Caines will be released to await trial upon posting 10% of his $15,000 bail. He is required to report to the probation office twice a week by telephone and is restricted to the St. Thomas/St. John district. He must also surrender his driver's permit and declare his address to the court.
Malique Caines is scheduled for his next court appearance on October 6.
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