A St. Thomas man being held on suspicion of car theft was charged with burglary after a witness recognized him in the police station, according to court records posted Friday.
A Haugland Virgin Islands safety manager noticed a GPS monitor attached to one of its Jeeps parked in Nazareth April 19 was moving unexpectedly. Two weeks later, Haugland employees and a tow truck tracked the red four-door to the Nadir area and towed it back to where it belonged. A review of security footage revealed the likely culprit was a man commonly known as “Doo Wah,” according to court records.
Police made contact with Burton Fahie Wednesday morning as he walked through Vendors Plaza with a fishing rod, according to court records.
Fahie was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. At the police station, Fahie allegedly said he had the keys to the Jeep in his bag. Instead, police found the keys to a Ford. Fahie allegedly told police he’d thrown the Jeep keys into a hole in the holding cell where he’d been temporarily placed. Police said he showed them where the keys were and acknowledged having taken the Jeep and used it for a week.
On Wednesday, after police cut through the wall and recovered the keys, Fahie faced additional charges of possession of stolen property and three counts of damage to a vehicle.
That same day, Fahie was identified as the alleged burglar who jimmied a window and made off with a cash register containing roughly $100.
On March 14, an employee at V.I Pawfect Natural Dog Food in Anna’s Retreat called police, saying their cash register had been stolen. Although the shop had been locked and there were no signs of forced entry, the employee said a faulty shop window was an easy entry point.
Video surveillance footage showed an unidentified “Black male dressed in clothing resembling that of a homeless individual, wearing yellow Crocs” taking the cash register, which was later found by some trash cans, according to court records.
Two other video cameras outside the building showed a Black man in a T-shirt, long pants, and yellow Crocs, police said.
On Wednesday, as police were cutting a hole in the wall to find missing Jeep keys, someone noticed Fahie fit the description of the alleged burglar.
Shown a brief section of the video footage, Fahie allegedly said, “Oh, that’s my look-alike. We have the same shoes, too, but that’s not me.”
After further interview, police said Fahie acknowledged taking the cash register, which he said only contained coins, according to court records.
Fahie was charged with burglary, unlawful entry, petit larceny, and destruction of property. Unable to make bail, he was remanded to jail.
