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A homeless St. Thomas man is back in jail after V.I. Police said he broke into the McDonald’s restaurant in Lockhart Garden. Allen Springette, 54, was arrested again Friday and charged with destruction of property and unlawful entry. Unable to post $25,000 bail, Springette was held at the Bureau of Corrections pending his advice-of-rights hearing. The latest case began at 4:20 a.m. Friday, when police responded to a 911 call from a security guard who said surveillance footage showed Springtte breaking a glass window with a rock, “entering the business, sweeping the floor with a broom, exiting the business through the same broken window and leaving the area.” Officers were initially unable to locate Springette, but police said he was later found “sleeping on the ground in front of the Foot Locker store,” which is just steps from the McDonald’s restaurant. Springette has been arrested at least 16 times over the years, typically for petty theft and property damage, according to court records, Judges have repeatedly ordered Springette to undergo mental health evaluations, but the V.I. Attorney General’s Office often dismisses all charges rather than prosecuting what are relatively minor crimes. The Virgin Islands government does not have a single mental health facility where people like Springette can receive treatment. So after spending months in jail, Springette is typically released back on to the street without long-term help because the court can find nowhere else for him to go. Springette has lived on St. Thomas his entire life, and has a lengthy history of using a rock to break into stores and restaurants, including a previous case where he threw a rock through a McDonald’s window while a children’s party was taking place inside. Springette’s break-in at a post office in 2018 resulted in federal charges, and Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller said at the time that “it’s a troubling situation” because there was nowhere for Springette to go, other than jail. Given his history, it’s essentially a foregone conclusion that Springette will reoffend in search of food or money, meaning that he has been stuck in an endless cycle of arrests for decades. His most recent arrest occurred in January, when police said he was caught on surveillance video using a rock to break into cars at the Seaplane terminal. One vehicle’s owner had left a firearm unsecured inside, and Springette was seen “leaving the scene with items in his hands, though the stolen firearm was not clearly identifable in the footage,” according to the probable cause fact sheet filed by police. “The investigation into the missing firearm remains ongoing.” In that case, Springette said he had no knowledge of the weapon, and he was only charged with grand larceny and damaging a vehicle. “The investigation into the whereabouts of the missing firearm continues,” according to police, and it’s unclear if investigators ever located the missing gun. Deputy Chief Territorial Public Defender Frederick Johnson Jr. asked the judge to reduce Springette’s bail in that case, but Magistrate Paula Norkaitis declined, citing Springette’s “extensive criminal history” and “the circumstances of the alleged incident.” According to Norkaitis, Springette is “a danger to the community,” and she denied the motion in February. Springette remained jailed for another six months, during which time Territorial Public Defender Lisa Godfrey filed a motion for a competency evaluation, which was sealed from public view in July. On Aug. 22, Assistant V.I. Attorney General Jeremy Weddle asked the court to dismiss the charges against Springette because “the evidence in this matter is insufficient” to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Denise Francois granted the motion, and Springette was arrested again just over two months later.
