ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP LEADS TO ARREST OF HABITUAL OFFENDER ON GUN CHARGE

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — When police stopped a vehicle driving with only one working headlight, the officer found a machine pistol, marijuana, and two mason jars of cash inside the car, authorities said..

The Friday night traffic stop was the latest in the VIPD’s broken-windows strategy to end gun violence — where even minor offenses can lead to search and arrest.

Craig King was charged with possession of an illegal firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

Police stopped King’s car at 8 p.m. near American Yacht Harbor. Instead of a fix-it-ticket for the headlight, the officer smelled marijuana. A search of the car turned up two mason jars full of cash, one mason jar of cannabis, a loaded MAC-11 handgun, and a second magazine capable of storing 50 bullets.

The MAC-11 – or Military Armament Corporation Model 11 – is not an ordinary handgun. It’s designed to fire 30 or more rounds in less than two seconds with very little accuracy. One weapons analyst is said to have called it “fit only for combat in a phone booth.”

In November 2016, Craig pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in a shooting at Coki Point that left two people dead.