St. Thomas man charged after SUV pursuit ends at church, gun recovered

A St. Thomas resident has been charged with multiple offences after abandoning a vehicle during a police pursuit that ended with the recovery of a loaded handgun near a church.

Winston Exius was operating a heavily tinted Acura RDX when officers attempted to stop him near Four Winds Plaza last Friday. According to police, he responded by making a U-turn, accelerating toward Lucky Street, and turning left onto Ronald A. "Silmo" Blyden Drive. The vehicle then became disabled due to transmission failure and detached parts.

All four people inside fled on foot in different directions. One pair ran to Wesley Methodist Church's parking lot; the other pair headed toward Joseph Gomez Elementary School. The abandoned Acura rolled further down Blyden Drive before colliding with a parked car and stopping.

Police observed one fleeing man carrying a bag and another holding an unidentified item. When both men emerged from the church parking lot, the second man no longer had the object. Officers detained both, but did not find the other two occupants.

A search of the Acura's interior revealed a bag on the driver's side floor containing a 30-round extended magazine. Exius told police he held no firearms licence in the Virgin Islands. He stated the ammunition belonged to another occupant, yet police noted he could identify and describe the bag holding it.

The next morning, officers searching the area near Wesley Methodist Church found a black Glock 19 handgun with an extended magazine in nearby brush. Church surveillance video showed one of the fleeing men placing an object in that same brush. The man in the footage wore clothing matching Exius's attire at the time of his detention.

Exius faces charges of unlawful firearm possession, two counts of unlawful firearm possession within 1,000 feet of a school, first-degree reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident, unsafe vehicle operation, failure to stop for police, interfering with an officer's duties, excessive window tint, and tinted licence plates.

At his initial court hearing on Monday, Magistrate Julie Todman-Smith determined probable cause existed for all charges. His bail was reduced from $100,000 to $5,005 cash, and he was released to an approved third-party custodian. His next court date is set for November 6.