80.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesMAXWELL ASKED, BUT NOT EXPECTED, TO SURRENDER

MAXWELL ASKED, BUT NOT EXPECTED, TO SURRENDER

The manhunt under way for convicted murderer Bradley "Hurtie" Maxwell, who escaped Sunday night from the Golden Grove Correctional Facility and remained at large Thursday night, is the most intense in the territory since the Fountain Valley murders in 1972, according to Attorney General Iver Stridiron.
Federal and local police, marshals, Bureau of Corrections personnel and search dogs from St. Thomas are on St. Croix working in three-man teams trying to track Maxwell down, Stridiron said Thursday. "We're trying to blanket the entire island," he said. "It may be a matter of time, but we will find him."
Maxwell is believed to have sawed his way to freedom from Golden Grove over a period of several weeks using a hacksaw blade. The Special Investigations Division of the Bureau of Corrections is reportedly trying to determine how he made his way out of the cell block and eventually out of the prison compound.
Shortly after delivering a speech at a Rotary II luncheon at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort Thursday, Stridiron stood before a television news camera and appealed to Maxwell to turn himself in.
"I'm telling you, you ought to give yourself up," he said. "If you don't voluntarily come in, you will be removed from the territory of the Virgin Islands. We will put you in a maximum security prison somewhere on the mainland."
Stridiron conceded that force will probably be needed to bring in Maxwell, who has been convicted of one murder, investigated for another and suspected of a third, and who has escaped from prison twice.
Terming Maxwell "a most dangerous, dangerous criminal" and a cold-blooded killer, the attorney general said there is no question that he poses a danger to those trying to re-capture him and to the public. "To him, the killing of someone is no more significant than stepping on an ant," Stridiron said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.