At around 4 a.m. on Feb. 17, 43-year-old Delano Dowe was shot in the leg with a shotgun in murky circumstances near Ulke Gade, a well-known downtown hot spot for drug deals, loitering and gunfights.
Dowe tried to save his own life, driving himself to a local fire station for help. But it was too late. Dowe died at Schneider Regional Medical Center late that night, becoming the 11th homicide victim in the territory.
Now police say they’ve caught the man who killed Dowe.
On Friday at about 1:30 p.m., officers from the VIPD’s Special Operations Bureau arrested 27-year-old Jermaine A. Williams of Vester Gade, in the area of Gamble Gade, according to the VIPD.
Officers had Williams pegged for weeks and have had an arrest warrant since March 19, police said in a statement Friday.
Williams was charged with first degree murder, first degree assault and possession of an unlicensed firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, police said. Bail was set at $250,000, which Williams was unable to pay.
He is being held by the Bureau of Corrections awaiting his advice of rights hearing.
After the arrest Friday, St. Thomas Police Chief Rodney Querrard commended the detectives of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, singling out those from Investigations, Major Crimes and Forensics.
“These officers worked together to ensure this positive outcome,” Querrard said.
"I want to also commend the officers assigned to Special Operations for their continued diligence in assisting the Criminal Investigations Bureau in the apprehension of these dangerous criminals,” he said. “ I would be remiss if I did not include commending the citizens whose calls assisted us in this investigation, and the many investigations being worked every day."
Querrard asks anyone with information related to this homicide or any other homicide or crime to please call the Police Department, “so your information, no matter how insignificant you may feel your information is, could be followed up,” he said.
“Information received timely could be worked, leading to timely arrest and closure,” he said in Friday’s statement. “Your information might be the piece of the puzzle we need to move a case forward with an arrest.”
Please call Major Crime Detective Lionel Bess on his cell at 642-8449, or his office at 715-5545 and 715-5546. One can also call Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
