April 15, 2009 — In a pre-dawn raid Wednesday, police on St. Croix arrested two men, one on a murder charge and the other on weapon and drug charges.
Mustafa Ichama Williams, 30, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 19-year-old George Ronald Simpson, who died from gunshots Jan. 23 in the parking lot of the Lorraine Village Apartments. Williams was also charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Charles Lord, 31, also known as "Shaka," was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He was found in possession of a black .40-caliber Glock handgun and eight one-ounce plastic bags of marijuana, which were confiscated by police. Williams was found in possession of four large plastic bags of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
The early morning raid was led by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Bureau and involved several other police units, including Forensics, K-9 and Special Operations.
Both suspects reside in Estate Grove Place. Bail for Williams was set at $300,000, while bail for Lord was set at $25,000. The suspects were remanded to the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility pending further court action.
Earlier this week, police arrested John Crump, 25, of Tamarind Estates, in connection with the homicide of Ray W. Bryson, who was murdered April 7 in Estate Humbug in the vicinity of Tamarind Estates. The arrest was made Sunday.
Crump has been charged with misprision of a felony, defined as the failure to report information about a felony to authorities. A person does not have to be involved in the crime to be charged with misprision.
Crump was placed on a $250,000 bail and remanded to the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility pending further court action.
St. Croix police Chief Oakland Benta said Crump has information about the homicide but refused to cooperate with police.
"It is no longer acceptable to hinder the efforts of police to solve crime," Benta said. "The law is on the book, we will make the arrest and the suspect will have their day in court."
Dwayne K. Friday, 30, also known as "Money," was arrested hours after the April 7 homicide and is charged with first-degree murder in Bryson's killing.
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