Nov. 13, 2001 – An 18-year-old St. Thomas youth died Monday evening after he was shot in the abdomen during a fight in the Contant Knolls area.
Marlon Lambertis was pronounced dead at Roy L. Schneider Hospital shortly after a friend rushed him there following the shooting, according to Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty. Investigators have learned that Lambertis was sitting with a small group of people outside of the Contant Knolls Apartments when a man drove up in a red Honda Civic shortly after 6 p.m. Monday.
That man got out of the car and approached Lambertis with a gun in his hand. A verbal argument started, the fight turned physical and a shot rang out, Carty said. Lambertis was hit with a single gunshot in the lower left abdomen.
The suspect then fled in the Honda while Lambertis' friend took the victim to the hospital, Carty said.
The death of Lambertis marks the 20th homicide in the Virgin Islands this year, and the 12th on St. Thomas. No arrests have been made in any of the St. Thomas murders this year, a fact which Carty said raises concerns.
The main obstacle investigators face is the lack of cooperation from members of the public who know who the killers are, Carty said Tuesday.
"Lack of cooperation, that's our main problem," he said. "All of these killings, people know who did it. All we can do is ask for cooperation."
With six weeks to go until the end of 2001, the homicide rate on St. Thomas this year stands at about 22 per 100,000 people. That is nearly four times the rate nationwide last year, 6 homicides per 100,000 people, according to FBI statistics.
