A father of five was granted bail when he appeared before a US Virgin Islands magistrate charged with second-degree assault and simple assault and battery.
The charges stemmed from a confrontation on Saturday night when Wilfredo Carmona allegedly pepper sprayed three of his minor children while he and his estranged wife engaged in a physical altercation.
Documents submitted to the court alleged that the minors, aged 17, 11 and 7, left home without Carmona’s consent to get a soda. When they returned, Carmona refused to let the children inside.
The children returned with their mother and she was unsuccessful in getting Carmona to let the children in.
The children told police that they attempted to gain entry into the home through a window and that’s when Carmona allegedly sprayed them with the pepper spray.
The court heard that Carmona’s alleged target was not the children but his estranged wife.
He alleged the woman attacked him once she and the children gained access to his home.
Magistrate Ernest E Morris, Jr set bail at $1,000.
He was permitted to post $101 in cash and sign an unsecured bond for the remainder.