Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Local man comes clean about burglarising grocery store in March

Local man comes clean about burglarising grocery store in March

With mass evidence including fingerprints and CCTV footage stacked against Purcell Estate resident Dekembe Parsons, the 21-year-old reversed his original plea of ‘not guilty’ and confessed to burglarising Sunshine Grocery Store in March.

Parsons, who was on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison for the offence, made a virtual appearance before Magistrate Christilyn Benjamin on Monday, October 19.

His appearance in court was heading for an adjournment to a subsequent date to allow him ample time to seek an attorney. After being told of the adjournment, Parsons inquired to Magistrate Benjamin as to whether he was able to change his not guilty plea.

He was informed by Magistrate Benjamin that he could do so at any time within the proceedings but was warned not to take the route as a means to speedily end the case if he was indeed innocent.

Parsons quickly pleaded guilty.

What the court heard happened


Crown Counsel Kael London told the court that on March 30 this year, the owner of Sunshine Grocery Store was informed that his business had been burglarized.

After getting to the scene of the crime, the owner was met by members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF); at which point, noted that several items amounting to $100 had been missing.

Police conducted a forensic examination in the store where prints were taken from several of the store windows.

The detectives also found a knife on the scene which appeared to contain blood which was examined and taken in for evidence.

Witnesses and CCTV footage


London also said that witnesses and CCTV footage was identified as supporting evidence for the case.

One male witness stated that about 9am on the day in question, he observed two males — one skinny and the other tall and medium built – walking in the vicinity of Chalwell Street. The males then stopped and pointed towards the store.

The witness was then shown CCTV footage by the detectives, where he confirmed that both males seen within the CCTV footage were the persons he had observed. Supporting a similar stance was the second witness, who also identified the two males in the video.

Parsons denied entering store


The evidence prompted the RVIPF to pick up Parsons, who was then taken to the station where he voluntarily participated in an interview. According to London, the accused denied ever entering the establishment.

Parsons also provided a sample of his fingerprints, which was compared to the ones collected from the crime scene.

London said that the analysis from the submitted fingerprints matched the ones taken by the police from the grocery store.

Parsons was subsequently charged for the breach of the curfew and burglary, while the other male was only charged for the curfew breach.

His sentencing will be on October 26.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×