Governor Kenneth Mapp has signed into law a measure requiring all guns coming into the territory be registered at ports of entry — including sea and land. The bill's sponsor, Senator Tregenza A. Roach, says it was forged based on complaints by Virgin Islands Police Department officials, who argued that weapons that are not registered eventually fall into the wrong hands and cannot be tracked. Mr. Roach, who said he has a "growing concern" for the escalation of gun... (GunPolicy.org)

HOUSTON — A man with ties to the Caribbean has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for sending guns bought in Texas to the U.S. Virgin Islands. A federal judge in Houston on Wednesday sentenced 22-year-old Tyrone Reid. Investigators say Reid is a citizen of Dominica who's been living in Houston. A jury in February convicted Reid of a conspiracy-related firearms count and two charges of making false statements to a firearms dealer. Prosecutors say Reid was... (GunPolicy.org)

If you've had a firearm placed for safekeeping with the Virgin Islands Police Department for more than a year, it's time to check in. The Police Department issued a statement Monday saying that its Firearms Bureaus in both districts are reviewing the guns left with them for safekeeping by registered gun owners. Under V.I. Code, firearms left in the Police Department's care that have remained unclaimed by the owner for at least 12 months can be considered abandoned,... (GunPolicy.org)

ST. CROIX - Amid the dramatic court proceedings surrounding the murder trial of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agent William Clark, a V.I. Police Department firearms examiner learned he was one of 12 people nationwide accepted into the ATF's National Firearm Examiner Academy, police said. Police Tool Mark Examiner Reynold De Souza was scheduled to begin training in a 17-week course that is offered once each year in Washington, D.C., on Monday,... (GunPolicy.org)

With an all-time record of 56 homicides in the territory last year, the U.S. Virgin Islands was not spared by the Caribbean-wide surge in violent crime in 2009 that experts say was fueled by drug trafficking, the proliferation of gangs and an influx of guns. An average homicide rate of more than 30 per 100,000 residents already made the Caribbean and Latin America the most violent region in the world, according to the World Bank and the United Nations. For a... (GunPolicy.org)

ST. THOMAS — A 22-year-old National Guardsman has been sentenced to a 2½-year prison term on a gun conviction. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Gomez sentenced Shawn Tyson, a member of the Tennessee National Guard, to five years with 2½ years suspended. Tyson will spend the remaining 2½ years on supervised release, Gomez said. In October 2008, Tyson and his co-defendant, Kelroy Morrell, were indicted on 27 counts — one count of conspiracy to... (GunPolicy.org)