The man police said shot and injured two officers after terrorizing a woman in her home had a history of weapons charges and domestic violence arrests, according to court records.
A St. Croix woman phoned police just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday to say a man in her Lorraine Village apartment had a gun and was threatening to kill her. A gunfight erupted that wounded two Virgin Islands Police officers and killed Ke’Jah Andreas, police said.
One officer was shot in the right hand and another in the left leg, VIPD Director of Communications Glen Dratte said Monday. Both officers, whose names were yet withheld, were in stable condition after treatment at Juan F. Luis Hospital, he said.
Dratte wouldn’t reveal more about the shootout — including who first opened fire, why and where exactly, and how many shots were fired — because it is an active investigation, he said.
Court records revealed Andreas had been arrested for at least four felonies since 2011, including a 2021 incident eerily similar to the shooting that led to his death.
In November 2021, Andreas allegedly hit an ex-girlfriend with a pistol and smashed her mobile phone while in her home without permission. He pointed the weapon at her and threatened to kill her. He was charged with burglary, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, and destruction of property, all domestic violence related, according to court records.
Police found a small arsenal in Andreas’ Harborview apartment, including several unlicensed firearms and different calibers of ammunition, while executing a search warrant.
In January 2023, Superior Court Judge Harold Willocks accepted prosecutors’ plea agreement with Andreas, allowing him to slip most of the charges and plead guilty to unlawful entry and destruction of property as an act of domestic violence. He was also convicted of illegal possession of a firearm.
All the other charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors could not refile them.
Willocks sentenced Andreas to more than a decade in prison — but the sentence was suspended. In total, Andreas spent five nights in jail. He was given five years of probation, during which Andreas was supposed to get his GED or enroll in a trade school, complete 75 hours of community service, undergo a psychiatric evaluation and complete a “batterers intervention program,” pay more than $11,000 in various fines and fees, and other stipulations.
Although there is no indication police acted improperly Sunday, Andreas’ death is likely the second gun-violence death of 2025 in the territory.
Twenty-five-year-old Jahkeem Joseph was found shot to death in St. Thomas’ Bovoni area Jan. 4.
