Police Charge Man in Machete Robbery of Supreme Court Justice Breyer
Bill Mears, CNN, February 21, 2012
Police on the Caribbean island of Nevis said Monday a local man has been arrested and charged in the recent armed robbery of vacationing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
The suspect, 28-year-old Vedel Browne, turned himself in Sunday after officials declared him “a person of interest,” and released his photo to the media, according to Sgt. Cledwyn Jeffers of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
Browne was formally charged with robbery Monday afternoon, said Sgt. Stephen Hector of the police force. Hector said the offense is a felony and carries a maximum sentence of 20 years upon conviction.
Breyer, his wife, her sister, and another guest were in the justice’s vacation home February 9 when an intruder armed with a machete broke in and robbed the occupants of about $1,000. Officials said no one was hurt in the incident.
The male assailant fled the scene, according to court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg. {snip}
Police officials in a news release said Browne has worked as a gardener, and Jeffers described him as a “Rastafarian.” {snip}
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Nevis is part of the West Indies chain known as the Leeward Islands, located about 350 miles southeast of Puerto Rico.
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Attacks on members of the federal judiciary are rare, but not new. Then-Justice David Souter was assaulted by a group of young males in 2004 while jogging alone in the evening near his Washington home. {snip}
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Vedel Browne
