St. John man takes rental car for a pre-April Fool’s Day joyride

CRUZ BAY — A St. John man has been arrested after he allegedly heisted a rental car for a joyride last month.

Kassahun Stapleton-Harris, 27, was arrested Tuesday and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

The case began at about 4:34 p.m. Sunday, when patrol units were dispatched to Cool Breeze Jeep Rental located on the North Shore Road in St. John to investigate a stolen vehicle, according to the VIPD.

Officers met with a representative of Cool Breeze, who said they saw Kassahun Stapleton-Harris driving one of their rental cars off the lot without permission, VIPD spokeswoman Sakeeda Freeman said.

The complainant also stated that Stapleton-Harris was not financially contracted to remove the vehicle from the car rental parking lot, according to Freeman.

“The vehicle was later recovered on Bordeaux Mountain,” she said.