Is Crime in STX really that bad?

NoOne,
There is no statute of Limitations on murder, sounds like a confession to me. You can't be that hard to find. Good luck on this one! It appears that a one man crime wave has left the islands, this is good. Even better when law enforcement starts a new investigation.

aquaponics--just curious about all your break-ins...did you not lock your doors before all the robberies? How did the tiefs get in all those times? The one time I was robbed about 2 years ago was when I left the door unlocked and my neighbors took advantage of the opportunity. I don't think they would have tried it if the door was locked. And usually I always keep the door locked whether I'm there or not, but the night in question was a rum-induced lapse.

In the apartment I'm in now, there are burglar bars on the windows so unless someone hacked them off, then hacked up the louvres or simply broke down the dead-bolted door, it would be pretty hard to get in. I would think that going through all these steps to get into a home would be a deterrent and they might just give up, but perhaps I am just naive??

Also, I have heard that east-end homes are targeted more for robberies but that could just be rumor.

Our house was locked up tight and they still got in.

To reiterate what the police told us:
"If they want to get in, they will get in. "
"Dogs and ADT might help, but might not. Depends on the burglars, many of which know how to handle dogs, and know how long they have before the police respond to the alarm."
"The more workmen you let into your house, the more exposure you create."
"If you don't know where you're going, -don't go there. If you don't know people there, -don't go there."
(These things are true living anywhere)

The best advice they gave us was "Buy a safe and use it."

As far as "where" you are "safer" ....breakins occur everywhere here, just as they occur everywhere "up there."
The East End is generally considered "safer" ...though certainly not without its incidents. But the East End is a HUGE hunk of territory. Some places would seem to be 'safer' than others depending on various factors, including, how secluded you are, or how good a target you show off. You can find people in all locations who have been "lucky" and those who have been "unlucky."

Before we came here, we ran down a list of "things that would make us leave."
We decided that "burglary" was not a "deal breaker." If it's a deal breaker for you, I would recommend staying where you are.

All this said, this is a wonderful place.

What about the crime around Hovensa property? I'm hoping to work and live there by hovensa, can someone tell me? Thanks!!!

no0ne, Maybe you could be of some help here. Did you burglarize houses and or rob people? If so, what would you look for when robbing a house or a person? Would it be a house that was out in the open or more secluded? Were specific types of people targeted? If you don't want to post publicly please PM me. Thanks.

We NEVER broke into houses because it is far too dangerous. Too many people are armed on the islands and we preferred not having direct confrontations. Businesses were open season, on the other hand. Back in the late 80s there were not many alarms or surveillance cameras, unlike today. If an alarm did go off, we left quickly. My father did have ADT for his businesses and had cornered a couple of intruders at various times - my father would go armed, of course.

We never specifically targeted people and never robbed anyone we knew.

My fathers house was never broken into even though the bulk of the houses in the area, over a ten year period, were broken into. We never locked our doors (I never even saw a key for them) but usually we would greet any unknown who came to our house with a gun in hand (displayed so the people could see it) and we always had two vicious dogs. I think firing my guns for practice at the top of the driveway made most people wary of coming to our house. My brother came home from school one day and one of our neighbors asked him, "Do you have an arsenal up there?"

NoOne,
There is no statute of Limitations on murder, sounds like a confession to me. You can't be that hard to find. Good luck on this one! It appears that a one man crime wave has left the islands, this is good. Even better when law enforcement starts a new investigation.

I was not a one man crime wave. There were more than a couple of dozen people involved. Most of them still live on the island and I would not be surprised if you know a few of them. One is a very prominent business man now.

Funny, I lived in Bakkeroe from 82 to 92 & don't remember all those break-ins. Never heard guns going off either.

lol noOne,you sound like a nazipigfuc@er,all proud of the crap you've pulled,typical i suppose,ever heard of karma,you're a perfect example of why we need vigilanties down here,or the death squads like we see in bolivia and brazil,you and you ilk need to be wiped out,you are nothing but parasites on the ass of humanity,lol you know like the taxi drivers down here

Sabrina - one of my dogs weighs in about 130lbs (Anatolian Sheppard)...The other about 80lbs (weimaraner + coon hound). The Anatolian is a sheep/goat guard dog so has a nice disposition and he's taught the other one all he knows. I have an infant so never wanted a vicious dog around. I think part of the problem is living right on the main road. Everyone that walks up and down gets to know my dogs. I'm sure they can be swayed with a little treat and maybe that's how they did it. Yeah, it felt like a clip from AFV when i came home and saw my two dogs up in that pasture...till I saw my door wide open.

Stxem....The home invasion was one of the only nights I left my door unlocked. i wish I could blame it on the rum, but it was more likely the colic baby haze. All the other breakins involved locked doors. Twice they busted through metal loovers, bending them up enough to get in. Once with ADT the front door was destroyed and they ran in/out for the fire safe. Just this year in a new house, they broke in while my wife for 2 hours. Our back door had 4 locks they busted through, AND we are on the main road. I'm shocked nobody saw them trying to get through the door. I thought it was related to me in some way, but about 5 houses in the area got hit over the next week or two. Always the same...jewelry, cash, laptops, etc....

Besides the BIG dogs, i think another line of defense would be a yippy dog inside the house. As the thieves are trying to get in the little yipper can draw attention to the crime. maybe my neighbors would have notice, BUT I personally do not want a yippy inside dog!

In my latest case, i hear that the thieves are known by the cops, they live in the area and have a famous last name. I hear the older one now scouts out the houses, recruits young kids from the projects, has them break in and then they all split the loot. I also know of gas stations in the area that accept gold for scrap value so i see them also as part of the cycle....

I still love living in STX, and I'm always glad to come home after going away...

lol noOne,you sound like a nazipigfuc@er,all proud of the crap you've pulled,typical i suppose,ever heard of karma,you're a perfect example of why we need vigilanties down here,or the death squads like we see in bolivia and brazil,you and you ilk need to be wiped out,you are nothing but parasites on the ass of humanity,lol you know like the taxi drivers down here

lol, throwing insults and threats is sooo classy.

Again, I will state that I am no longer doing these things, for nearly twenty years now. I do hope my work (not the book) will help others and I do believe in karma. Some day I will probably pay for what I have done and I have no problem owning up to my sins. Most criminals are not like that, unless they are in jail/prison and trying to get out.

Do you really think I cannot ever contribute to society?

noOne, i dont know you and dont know your motives behind what you did. that being said i do think people can change and some do. when i lived in md we had work release prisoner working where i worked. one man was in prison for homocide. he was actually a very nice man, later he went on to own a 7 eleven type store and was doing very well last i heard. talking to him and seeing his attitude in general you never would have guessed what he was in jail for. everybody loved him and his work ethic. so again, people can and do change.

noOne, i dont know you and dont know your motives behind what you did. that being said i do think people can change and some do. when i lived in md we had work release prisoner working where i worked. one man was in prison for homocide. he was actually a very nice man, later he went on to own a 7 eleven type store and was doing very well last i heard. talking to him and seeing his attitude in general you never would have guessed what he was in jail for. everybody loved him and his work ethic. so again, people can and do change.

Thank you, speee1dy. The second time I went back to STT, after being away for nine years, one of my best friends told his wife, as I prepared to leave, "He is the worst one out of all of us."

His wife refused to believe I was involved in those things and called him a liar.

Well, then you can use any royalties from the book to pay back those you victimized. 🙂

Well, then you can use any royalties from the book to pay back those you victimized. 🙂

Well said!

So I guess if people are determined enough they will get in.

I've never been too bothered by the crime on island and hopefully this thread isn't going to get me paranoid after six years of the island. One thing I'm starting to worry about is someone breaking in and doing something to my two small dogs. One is deaf and he wouldn't last very long out in the open if someone removed him from the house. My imagination is starting to run wild after aquaponics sheep incident.

well noOne i honestly believe most people can change but i also think that if you can find your victims that they should at least be repaid in a monetary way. and also ask them for forgiveness, does not mean that they will give it but you should at least try. noOne you should be proud of yourself for changing

How about the family of the murder victim, how do you repay them? Changing? Give me a break, did anyone hear any remorse for that. Come out with your book and make it easy for the authorities to put you away!

izard you are right i did forget that in the original post. my apologies. you can never change that.

How about the family of the murder victim, how do you repay them? Changing? Give me a break, did anyone hear any remorse for that. Come out with your book and make it easy for the authorities to put you away!

I was a witness and actually told the guy to run away... he did not listen to me. I did not take part in the crime and I am not going to detail the story anywhere, especially not in my book.

you are starting to sound like noOne Van der Sloot!

noOne, just curious why you ( i told him to run) did not try to stop this crime? from what you stated in the above post, you just tried to tell him to run. did you tell the cops what you witnessed? yes i have heard that people are corrupt in the islands. 2nd most corrupt next to dc.

noOne,
Hmmmmm "I was part of one murder that the then Police Chief an the now Police Chief were directly involved in and that was covered up, because my fathers close association with the Police Force."
FREUDIAN SLIP?

noOne, just curious why you ( i told him to run) did not try to stop this crime? from what you stated in the above post, you just tried to tell him to run. did you tell the cops what you witnessed? yes i have heard that people are corrupt in the islands. 2nd most corrupt next to dc.

noOne,
Hmmmmm "I was part of one murder that the then Police Chief an the now Police Chief were directly involved in and that was covered up, because my fathers close association with the Police Force."
FREUDIAN SLIP?

I won't go into detail, other than to say the man who committed the act was associated with my father and he is now LWOPPed for a second double murder he was caught for.

noOne,
I feel so much better with that explanation. "NOT"!

2 Questions and a Story.

1. How close to move-in times are most of the property break-ins? Is there a chance of internal corruption in any of the moving companies. If you have a list of items you want to steal, unfortunately most of us are pretty boring and I think general placement is intuitive. As simple as hitting the store with a grocery list. What is the probability of this?

2. Or is the issue people showing too many of their personal possessions with uncovered/open windows as they strain to catch the trade winds?

My door was kicked in 2 yrs ago. 3 thieves targeted me due to my profession, assuming law enforcement. 2 of 3 had multiple marks on their records of theft and breaking and entering vehicles and homes as well as admissions of crimes to fund their drug habit. They typically did not hit neighborhoods like mine because it is low income and what can you steal from the poor? They were caught, with my possessions, ducked down in their car. They were released due to "lack of evidence" because "no one saw them leaving the property with said items." As minors, the records are protected. The only reason I am aware of so many details were officers who felt sorry for me, none willing to go on record when I got the DA's response. No, I don't live in the Carribbean. I live in a metropolitan area of Texas in a neighborhood with fairly low crime. Crime is everywhere. Sometimes it is preventable. And sometimes we just cross paths with truly worthless pieces of human flesh.

Its not so much move in or move outs. Its either occupied property or rental property that sits vacant too long. Doing weekly rentals on stx can be challenging. Many weekly type rentals sit vacant for months at a time in the off season. Criminals here seem to target neighborhoods then move on. When they steal here they often know your schedule so they can take their time, they will go through everything, I've even heard about them stealing things like maghony staircases and water heaters. So having a active neighborhood watch and just knowing your neighbors and talking to them and being friends is VERY important.

You do have to be careful who you let into your home, but that is also unavoidable to a certain extent. Things will break and you will have to hire people to do the work, unless of coarse you are the perfect husband or wife and are an excellent handyperson. Not all houses but houses that sit on close to the road on busy streets are not usually expensive houses that people want to break into. On the far east end and north shore its different, those generally are expensive but they usually have high walls.

Cops and Feds generally aren't targeted as they work closely together on such small islands and the criminal will generally get a nice long stay somewhere unpleasant.

My daughter dated a cruzian man who is in the Navy stationed in the states. His brother was a Federal agent on the island. He loaned his father his car and bad guys thinking that it was the Federal agent shot him six times so don't think for a minutes that good cops and Federal agents are safe from the bad guys here in the VI. My husband was special services in the military as was my brother and I knew never to tell what my husband or brother did for a living. That was the first thing I learned as a Navy wife. It puts the whole family in danger. I am always shocked here on the island when FBI, DEA, or ATF wives or family members disclose that information so freely especially on a public forum.