Mugshot of Enrique Velasquez. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A St. Croix man is facing felony burglary and related charges after police say he broke into a home in Estate Profit Hills in the early morning hours of May 30, stole his girlfriend’s cellphone and fled through a damaged bedroom window.
According to police, the incident followed a dispute that began the day before at a residence in La Grande Princess. A woman told officers she was at home with her boyfriend, Enrique Velasquez III, when she decided to go to the beach with a friend. Velasquez reportedly became upset, and during the argument that followed, the woman called police for assistance.
Responding officers told the couple that “one of them would have to leave the residence to avoid further issues,” according to the police report.
The woman decided to leave. She took her minor child and went to her friend’s residence in Estate Profit Hills, where they spent the night.
The woman told police that she and her 1-year-old daughter were asleep in the friend’s guest bedroom when she was awakened by loud banging at the window, followed by Velasquez’s voice shouting her friend’s name. She said she picked up her daughter and headed toward the hallway.
Velasquez reportedly climbed through the window, grabbed the woman’s phone from her hand, and fled through the damaged window into an unknown vehicle.
Police said the woman’s friend corroborated her account. The friend said she was also awakened by the noise from Velasquez and noted that it was 4 a.m. when he arrived. She said she went toward the second bedroom but met the woman in the hallway with her baby in her arms.
From where she stood, the friend told police she had a clear view of the second bedroom window and saw Velasquez “tearing the window off and away from the wall,” according to the police report. She also said she saw him step through the damaged window into the house and approach his girlfriend.
The friend told police she got between the couple because she feared for her friend’s safety. Velasquez nevertheless managed to snatch his girlfriend’s phone, reportedly scratching the friend as he hurried to get away.
A neighbor told police she heard the commotion in the early morning hours but did not pay it much mind. It was not until she woke up again around 5 a.m. that she realized something had occurred. She was later able to share surveillance footage from cameras installed around her home.
Police said the footage showed a person dressed in dark clothing near the bedroom window. The person could be seen pulling the window from its frame and entering the residence. The cameras also captured screams from inside the home and several demands for “Popie” to get out of the house and return the phone. Officers noted that Popie is a nickname used by both the woman and her friend to refer to Velasquez.
While police were searching for him, Velasquez called the woman’s friend’s phone. Police spoke to him instead and advised him to turn himself in. He told a detective that he was in Barron Spot, but officers who traveled there shortly afterward were unable to locate him.
The woman and her daughter were taken to an undisclosed location, and she was advised not to return to her residence until police found Velasquez.
Velasquez turned himself in late Sunday night. He was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary, simple assault and battery, destruction of property, and disturbance of the peace.
He appeared before Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross on Tuesday, where probable cause was found to uphold the charges. However, the matter was postponed until Wednesday so that suitable bail conditions could be devised.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Mr. Velasquez’s next court appearance was scheduled for June 17.
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