Tortola resident Mikquann Bassue is facing domestic violence-related charges after police say a visit from Tortola to see his girlfriend on St. Thomas ended in an assault inside her dormitory room at the University of the Virgin Islands. Photo: VI Consortium

According to the woman’s account to police, Mikquann Bassue travelled from Tortola on Sunday, March 22, 2026, and took the ferry to St Thomas to spend time with her. The two first had lunch at a restaurant in Yacht Haven Grande before returning to her dormitory on the UVI campus.

The woman told officers that after they returned, Bassue fell asleep while they were watching movies. She said she then took the opportunity to look through his phone.

What she found, according to her statement, led her to believe he was being unfaithful. She said she woke him up and confronted him about what she had seen.

The woman told police that Bassue did not want to discuss the matter, but she continued pressing him about it. At one point, she said, he struck her across the face with the back of his hand.

She said she hit him back, and that the confrontation then escalated. According to her account, Bassue began punching her in the face and in the back of the head multiple times.

Assault allegedly continued over broken gold chain

The woman also said that during the assault she grabbed his chain, causing it to break. She told police that he then ordered her to put it back together, and when she could not find all of the pieces, he continued hitting her repeatedly.

She said she tried to text a friend for help, but Bassue blocked those efforts. According to her account, he threw one of her phones and used her tablet to delete the message she had tried to send.

At some point during the altercation, the noise drew the attention of one of the woman’s housemates, who knocked on the door. The woman said she used the brief pause that followed to run from the room and seek safety with her friend.

Police also interviewed that friend, who said she had received a text from the woman earlier about her suspicions of infidelity. The friend told officers she later received a missed call and noticed that a text had been unsent. She said that when she tried calling and messaging back, the woman stopped responding.

According to the friend, she sent several more messages and warned that she would go to the police if she did not hear back. She said she eventually received a message from the woman explaining what had happened.

'Small altercation'

Bassue, according to police, denied hitting his girlfriend, though he acknowledged that there had been a small altercation. He told officers that she had been hitting him and that he was only trying to restrain her.

Police said, however, that he could not explain the injuries they observed on the woman, including two large swollen lumps on her forehead and a bruised upper lip.

Bassue was arrested and charged with simple assault as a crime of domestic violence and disturbance of the peace.

He was remanded into custody pending his advice of rights hearing, which was scheduled for Monday before Magistrate Julie Smith Todman.

As of press time, the outcome of that hearing was not listed on the public court docket. Bassue’s next court appearance has been scheduled for April 10, 2026.