ST. CROIX — A high school student is currently facing felony charges for allegedly mugging a fellow student of a “Franco” chain, enlisting the help of a minor in doing so.
According to court documents, officers were dispatched to a location in Estate Solberg in mid-January to investigate reports of a robbery. A high school student had reportedly been leaving his girlfriend’s residence at about 1:00 a.m. that morning, when he was held at gunpoint by two males and robbed of his chain.
The boy and his father presented themselves at the Criminal Investigation Bureau a few days later to make a statement on the matter. He told officers that he was on the porch of his girlfriend’s house on the night of January 14th, when he saw a black vehicle drive by slowly. Although the vehicle looked suspicious to him, the boy said that he didn’t pay it any additional attention.
However, some time later as he was walking to his own car, two masked males emerged from behind a parked vehicle and approached him. The taller man walked in front of him to block his path, while the shorter individual came up behind him with what appeared to be a firearm. The one with the weapon jammed the gun into the boy’s back and demanded the chain.
He told police that he recognized the second individual by his voice, identifying him as someone he attends school with. He handed over the chain and the individuals reportedly fled with their takings. The boy told police that through his own investigation, he figured out who the taller individual was likely to be – Jeanlor Ulysse, a friend of the gun-wielding assailant.
The robbery victim and his parents then set out to make contact with the two suspects, and met them separately. First, they questioned the minor boy – the one who had been holding the gun – along with his parents. The victim told police that the first suspect identified Ulysse as his accomplice in the robbery.
The meeting with Ulysse and his family took place in the principal’s office of the high school all three boys attend. At first, the 18-year-old was reportedly reluctant to admit to his role in the robbery, but eventually was forthcoming.
On February 9, both Ulysse and his minor accomplice were interviewed by police, reportedly corroborating the victim’s account of what transpired. He was then arrested and charged with grand larceny, first and third-degree robbery, first and third-degree assault, carrying or using a dangerous weapon, constructive possession of a firearm, delinquency of a minor, and conspiracy.
Ulysse appeared before Magistrate Paula Norkaitis on Monday, where a public defender was appointed to represent him and a pretrial release order was issued by the judge. However, details of the order, including bail conditions, have not been made public as of press time.
The next court appearance for Ulysse is scheduled for March 1.
