Mugshot of Hubert Charles. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A St. Croix man is facing felony firearm charges after police escorted his partner home following an alleged assault and found a loaded revolver under a couch cushion inside the couple’s Belvedere residence.
According to court documents, the woman went to police on Saturday seeking an escort home after leaving the hospital. She told officers she had been assaulted by her partner, Hubert Charles, and did not feel safe returning to the residence by herself.
The woman also told police that Charles owned a gun. She said she knew this because he had previously held it to her head.
Several officers accompanied the woman to the Belvedere residence. Charles came outside, and during a conversation involving himself, the woman and police, he reportedly volunteered that he had given his gun to a friend who later moved to New York.
The woman gave police permission to search the home. During the search, she reportedly assisted officers by lifting the cushions of the living room couch. Under one of the cushions, police recovered a revolver loaded with 38 rounds of ammunition.
According to police, Charles said the firearm had been purchased from a man “down the street.”
When officers advised Charles that he was about to be arrested, he reportedly began pleading with his partner, telling her that he did not want to go to jail.
Charles was taken to the Wilbur H. Francis Command Police Station. Officers later determined that he does not have a license to possess or carry a firearm in the territory.
He was charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition. Unable to post the initial bail requirement of $50,000, Mr. Charles was remanded into custody pending his advice of rights hearing, which was scheduled for Monday morning.
As of press time, the outcome of Charles’ hearing had not yet been published.
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