Bank of St. Croix Robbed, SWAT Team Descends On Castle Coakley [UPDATE]

Update 1

St. Croix police have just released new information on Tuesday morning’s armed robbery of the Bank of St. Croix in Estate Peter’s Rest. Police are searching for two suspects, one of whom brandished a weapon upon entering the bank. The two men made off with an undetermined amount of cash.

Earlier

The Bank of St. Croix  in Peter’s Rest was robbed at gun point just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday by an unidentified man who police officers pursued into Castle Coakley.

Police received a call of the robbery at 9:49 a.m. and officers arrived on the scene at 9:52 a.m. The man, who sped away in an old blue Ford Mustang, crashed the vehicle near the bowling alley located in Castle Coakley, and hustled through the bushes further into the neighborhood.

SWAT Team, Unit 90, arrived on the scene where they were told by a witness that the suspect had climbed the fence of a house in the area and went inside. A police officer on the scene told VI Consortium that when the home owner was asked if a man had climbed her fence and entered the home, the woman said she was unaware.

Police cars swarmed the area and Unit 90 officers descended on the house with shields up and guns drawn. They called for the man to surrender, but heard no response. They then made their way into the house, but returned without the suspect.

The heavily armed SWAT Team searched the outside perimeter of the home and a small room at the back of the house, but still came up empty handed.

It is unclear how much cash, if any, the suspect got away with. No one was hurt in the incident.

The hunt for the suspect continues as detectives with the Criminal Investigation Bureau are investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 712-6030, 712-6077, 911 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

The VI Consortium will provide updates as they become available.