A 56-year-old St. Croix resident with a lengthy criminal record has been locked up following an alleged robbery at a downtown dive shop on Saturday afternoon.
Warren Freeman appeared in Superior Court on Monday before Magistrate Christopher M. Timmons, who set his bail at $75,000. Freeman faces charges of first-degree robbery (second offense), petit larceny, possession of stolen property, and disturbance of the peace. He was remanded to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility in Golden Grove.
The incident took place at Scuba St. Croix Ultimate Blue Water Adventures at 2F Strand Street in Frederiksted around midday on November 7. According to a probable cause statement filed by Detective Inais Borque of the Major Crimes Unit, Freeman entered the shop in an agitated state carrying a backpack.
When cashier Layla Latson approached to help, Freeman declared "This is a robbery, give me everything out of the register". He then lifted his shirt and moved his hand toward his waistband in a way that made Latson believe he was reaching for a concealed weapon. Freeman also told police that "people do not take him seriously and that he would execute his threats" and claimed his family owned the property.
Freeman dumped the contents of his backpack onto the counter, revealing a cell phone, a book, and other personal items, then put them back. He then grabbed a pair of black bifocal sunglasses worth $80 from a display and left the shop.
A co-worker named Tim Jenkins spotted Freeman outside, photographed him, and notified police. Detectives Sarah Velez and Borque found Freeman nearby still wearing gray pants and a black t-shirt, and recovered the sunglasses from him. At the police station, Freeman refused to cooperate with booking procedures.
Freeman's criminal past includes a September 2022 arrest in Clifton Hill after he was found naked behind the wheel of an overdue rental Jeep. He deliberately rammed a police cruiser, and officers fired at the vehicle to stop it. Attempted murder charges were later dropped after a court ordered him evaluated by the Department of Health.
In May 2026, Freeman was arrested following a disturbance at Oriental Bank in Estate Diamond. While in a wheelchair, he stood up and struck a police officer in the head with a metal crutch, causing a deep cut to the officer's face. Witnesses had previously reported Freeman using the wheelchair to harass cruise ship visitors along the Frederiksted Waterfront Promenade and setting fires in garbage cans at Verne Richards Memorial Park.
Freeman remains in custody awaiting formal arraignment.
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