A tense confrontation at a St. Vincent gas station ended in the arrest of an armed local man last weekend, after an off-duty police sergeant’s quick reaction prevented what could have become a deadly incident, iWitness News has confirmed. The incident unfolded Sunday at the Richardson gas station in Arnos Vale, where Sergeant of Police Dwight James was waiting in his vehicle as part of a line of motorists refueling.
Trouble began when a female driver cut the waiting line of vehicles, parking before stepping away to attend to personal errands. James, who was in plain clothes at the time, called out to the driver to address the line cutting, but received no response. Minutes later, an agitated man identified as 46-year-old Nicholas Huggins of Golden Vale approached James with his hand pressed firmly to his waistband, visibly angry and making aggressive comments toward the sergeant.
James repeatedly asked Huggins to calm down and step back, but the man continued advancing, his hand never leaving his waist, creating an immediate, credible threat to the officer’s life. When Huggins closed to within feet of the sergeant’s vehicle, James drew his service weapon, stopping the advancing man in his tracks. A subsequent check confirmed what James had suspected: Huggins was carrying a loaded, unlicensed firearm at his waist.
Alerts were immediately sent to the nearby Drug Squad Base, and officers from the Narcotics Unit arrived within minutes to assist their colleague. Law enforcement took Huggins into custody at the scene, and later charged him with two weapons-related offenses: unlawful possession of a Taurus revolver with serial number FR9291, and unlawful possession of two .38 caliber rounds of ammunition.
Huggins appeared before the Serious Offences Court this Tuesday, where he entered a formal plea of not guilty to both charges. Prosecutor Inspector of Police Renrick Cato did not oppose a grant of bail, but requested the court impose strict conditions including a qualified surety, mandatory regular check-ins with police, and the surrender of all travel documents to prevent flight risk.
Chief Magistrate Colin John granted bail set at EC$15,000 with one approved surety, matching the prosecution’s requested conditions. Huggins was ordered to report in person to the Calliaqua Police Station every Tuesday for the duration of the proceedings, and to surrender all valid travel documents to authorities. The court also issued a directive to place stop notices at every port of entry and exit across St. Vincent to prevent Huggins from leaving the country ahead of his next court date. The case has been adjourned until April 7, and will be transferred to the Calliaqua Magistrate’s Court for ongoing proceedings.