CORAL BAY — When the Dolphin Coral Bay grocery store courier was accosted at gunpoint at the gate to the Cocoloba commercial complex on Route 107 along the shore of Coral Bay on Wednesday, January 21, at about 10 p.m. and robbed of the day’s receipts, store owner Nael Ahmad arrived on the scene from his home outside Cruz Bay in “less than 10 minutes,” according to eyewitnesses.
The two V.I. Police Department officers on overnight duty on the island arrived on the scene — together — “one hour and twelve minutes” after the robber had struck the courier with a handgun and fired two quick shots in the air before running off into the darkness, according to one of the witnesses who called to report the robbery.
The robbery was reported to the VIPD dispatcher by employees from the store and a number of employees and lingering customers at the outdoor bar adjacent to the gate, just steps from the struggle over the bag containing the grocery store’s day’s receipts.
Although there were rumors of an arrest later in the week, there were no announcements from the V.I. Police Department. There was no report of the robbery itself or any arrest in the police activity record provided to the St. Thomas V.I. Daily News.
Struggle With Lone Gunman
Witnesses in the handful of bar patrons and employees related how the lone masked gunman confronted the courier as he exited the front gate of the Cocalobo commercial complex on Route 107.
Another employee shouted for the guard to give up the money pouch but the struggle over the receipt bag ended when the robber struck the courier in the head with his handgun, wrested the bag from him, fired two quick shots into the air and ran off on foot.
Dolphin Market opened just before Thanksgiving and has been a big success in the isolated community. Although the Coral Bay convenience store Savers has been the target of several similar armed robberies in recent months, this was the first incident at Dolphin.
Once at the scene at the scene, one of the VIPD officers threatened to arrest Ahmad — who was still holding his registered handgun when they arrived — for violating his permit to carry a concealed weapon by not concealing the weapon, one eyewitness told St. John Tradewinds.
Fortunately, St. John Tradewinds, was unable to reach Ahmad for comment.
