Woman Who Pistol Whipped Taxi Driver Released On Unsecured Bond

ST. THOMAS — A woman who is accused of pistol-whipping a taxi driver has been allowed to be released from custody on an unsecured bond, V.I. Department of Justice Public Media Officer Corliss Smithen announced today.

Kefiyrah Petersen, 35, of Wintberg who was arrested Friday made her initial court appearance Monday morning to be advised of her rights on five charges – two counts of third-degree assault, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition and disturbance of the peace.

V.I. Superior Court Magistrate Henry Carr III found that there was probable cause to move the case forward and reduced her bail from $75,000 to a $50,000 unsecured bond. Magistrate Carr also ordered Petersen to abide by a number of court-imposed bail conditions, which include house arrest.

Police arrested Petersen after a taxi driver reported that she pointed a handgun at him and struck him in the head with it, according to a probable cause fact sheet filed by Officer Jameel Febres

The taxi driver who was operating out of Red Hook picked up Petersen to take her home to Wintberg for a fee of $20. Petersen got into the front passenger seat of the taxi and then began yelling and cursing profanities at the taxi driver as they were passing the area of Lindquist Beach. The taxi driver told her to calm down, but she refused, Febres wrote

Then, according to Febres, Petersen took a firearm from her handbag, pointed it at the taxi driver’s head and then pistol-whipped him on the side of the head. The taxi man managed to wrest the firearm away from Petersen while he held her in a headlock. Petersen got out of the car, walked away into the parking lot of Ace Hardware in Smith Bay and into the bush where police later found her.

Police took Petersen to the Mariel C. Newton Command holding cell and read her the constitutional rights. She then began spitting at officers, banging her head against the wall and aggressively kicking the cell. Police transported Petersen to Schneider hospital due to her behavior. She cursed the hospital security staff and refused any medical attention, according to Febres.

Petersen is scheduled to return to court on May 18 for her arraignment hearing, at which she will formally answer to the charges.