What started out as a quiet evening for one South Shore couple last week ended up being anything but.
On Monday evening, October 12, around 7 p.m. the couple was in their Estate Mandhal home and had just settled on their couch to watch a DVD when two men busted through their front door.
“There were two men in black ski masks dressed in all black and they came busting through the door,” said the victim. “I turned to the front door and saw the biggest gun I’ve ever seen in my life.”
One of the men — both of whom were black — was more than six feet tall, while the other man was about five foot, eight inches tall, according to the victims.
“The tall guy had the gun in his hand and there was another guy behind him who was a little shorter,” said the victim. “They busted in and started yelling and screaming for us to not look at them and to keep our heads down. I just freaked out.”
With her head buried behind her husband’s back, the woman heard shattering noises coming from the kitchen in the couple’s modest home.
“I kept praying ‘please don’t hurt us — I have nothing that is worth my life,’” said the resident. “I could hear them throwing things in my kitchen and they kept screaming. I heard them open the refrigerator and the freezer door.”
“They took the fan out of the window and emptied my purse on the bed,” the resident said. “They were throwing stuff everywhere.”
After what seemed like ages, but was probably 15 or 20 minutes, the resident heard a car door slam, she explained.
“After what seemed like forever, I heard a car door slam and then I heard a car start in the distance,” said the victim. “I got up and I didn’t know what to do. I looked around and saw that things had been thrown everywhere, but there was nothing missing.”
“They took nothing,” she said. “I told my husband to get the neighbors and I called 911.”
V.I. Police Department officials responded quickly, professionally and with sensitivity, the woman explained.
“The police were here within an hour and the officer stayed on the phone with me the whole time because by then I was hysterical and bawling and crying,” said the victim. “The officer on the phone kept asking me questions and tried to calm me down. He was talking to the officers who were on their way out here and giving them directions.”
“The next day the forensic team was out here trying to lift fingerprints,” said the Estate Mandhal resident. “I was very impressed with the VIPD — they did a wonderful job that night. I’m very proud of what they did.”
Besides a big mess, the only damage the couple suffered was a slashed tire on their car and frayed nerves.
“I’m still totally freaked out,” said the resident. “I’m fine physically, but mentally this has really gotten to me.”
Anyone with information regarding the Estate Mandhal break-in should call VIPD at 693-8880 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).