What Happens When a Criminal Suspect Violates Bail Conditions in the Virgin Islands? Superior Court Explains

A man who recently got into a single-vehicle accident and died on Midland Road in the vicinity of Estate Calquohoun was also a murder suspect in the 2017 homicide of Dean Schneider in Watergut. Police also confirmed that a firearm was found in some grass at the scene about 33 feet away from the accident victim's body.

Community members immediately saw this as cause for concern. The V.I. Police Department has incessantly called on Virgin Islanders to provide information they may have regarding criminal activity. But one of the questions community members asked went to the heart of trust and accountability: What happens if, for instance, a community member provides information about a murder suspect. This murder suspect is then released on bail with strict conditions, however instead of this suspect following the bail conditions, the suspect is seen breaking the order and roaming the island freely. How could the person who provided the information that may have led to the arrest of the suspect feel safe?

Following the accident Saturday morning, Police Commissioner Ray Martinez stated that too often the public hears of individuals released on bail violating the conditions of their release. He said he would be reaching out to the Superior Court and the V.I. Department of Justice in regards to addressing this issue.

On Wednesday, the V.I. Courts' head of public relations, Regina Petersen, provided answers to the Consortium on a number of questions that aim to bring clarity to the process.

In the case of 31-year-old Andre P. Auguste, who died during the wee hours of Saturday morning following the accident and was a suspect in the 2017 homicide of Dean Schneider in Water Gut, Ms. Petersen pointed the Consortium to the "Stipulation for Modification of Conditions of Release" for the defendant’s cases that was "signed by both the Attorney General's Office and the defendant’s legal counsel."

Ms. Petersen said, "The defendant was not on 24-hour monitoring and had liberal work privileges including shift work at night. The defendant was meeting his check-ins and there were no reports of violations of any of the stipulated conditions of release."

According to the Stipulation for Modification of Conditions of Release, Auguste had to abide by a number of conditions: He had to reside at the residence of a third-party custodian; have no contact directly or indirectly with any victim or witnesses or co-defendant; could not leave St. Croix without written permission from the court; could not violate the laws of the USVI and the United States; he had to abide by 24-hour house arrest without the use of electronic monitoring, and was allowed to leave his residence only to work at a trucking company from Monday through Saturday from 5:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and work at a retail outlet from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. He could also leave the house to appear in court, meet with his attorney or go to the hospital for emergency care.

Here are the responses provided by Ms. Petersen to questions asked by the Consortium: