U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – V.I. Attorney General Ariel Smith announces that 62-year-old Felipe Felix, a registered sex offender, was arrested on August 15th, 2023, for unauthorized possession of a firearm. This arrest resulted from the efforts of our annual Sex Offender “Keeping Watch” Operation in the St. Croix District. The team responsible for the arrest are members of the V.I. Dept. of Justice (VIDOJ) Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Unit, V.I. Superior Court Probation Officers, Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Felix was advised of his rights on August 16th in V.I. Superior Court at which time the Court found probable cause for the arrest. He is charged with 2253 (a) Unauthorized possession of a firearm and Possession of Ammunition. Bail was set at 50,000 and Felix is required to post $5,000 cash and sign an unsecured bond in the amount of $45,000. If Felix is able to post bail, he will be required to have a third-party custodian, on 24-hour house arrest subject to electronic monitoring and only allowed to leave his residence to appear in court, report to the Office of Probation, meet with his attorney, or for a hospital emergency. He will also be required to surrender his passport and is prohibited from leaving the territory.
Felix is as classified a Tier III sexual offender with his conviction in the State of New York of Sexual Abuse 1st, sexual contact with an individual less than 11 years old which occurred in 1999. Felix is also currently on parole for a felony conviction, and as a condition of parole, he is subject to unannounced visits and searches by the V.I. Superior Court Probation Department. A search was conducted by Probation Officers and a .22 caliber Ruger long rifle handgun with four live rounds was discovered in a nightstand drawer in the home where he was residing. A check of the VIPD Firearms records revealed that Felix was not licensed to carry a gun. Felix was then placed under arrest.
Under Virgin Islands Law, a registered sexual offender must notify the VIDOJ of his/her name, residence, temporary lodging information, vehicle information, internet identifiers, telephone numbers, school information, and employment status. The Office of the Attorney General, SORNA Unit routinely conducts inspections of registered sex offenders to verify their location and other personal information, such as work and home addresses. Registered sexual offenders in the territory are prosecuted if they fail to register or if they fail to keep their registrations current and if convicted, the penalty is a fine of not less than $3,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or imprisonment for not less than three months nor more than two years, or both. Any person who assists a sex offender in evading registration requirements is subject to a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $2,000.00, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
The sex offender registry is available for public view at https://usvi.nsopw.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2023
Sandra Goomansingh
Media Relations Director
(340)774-5666 ext. 10105
Email: Sandra.goomansingh@doj.vi.gov