A man from La Grande Princess, 27-year-old Omari Gordon, was arrested Tuesday and charged with the shooting death of 19-year-old Kendall Woods, who died Sunday.
Detectives from St. Croix’s Investigation Bureau took Gordon in for questioning as a person of interest shortly after Sunday’s shooting, but released him pending further investigation.
Detectives subsequently obtained an arrest warrant and Gordon turned himself in, accompanied by his attorney. He was arrested at 3 p.m. Tuesday and held on $500,000 bail. Gordon was remanded to Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility pending further court action.
According to St. Croix Police Chief Oakland Benta, at the time of the murder Gordon was on bail and awaiting trial in connection with an April 30, 2008, assault case in the Mutual Homes housing community in which a victim was shot.
According to police, the murder victim, Woods, won money earlier in the day at the racetrack, but detectives have not yet established robbery as a motive and the case is still being investigated.
Benta thanked the community for its assistance in bringing Gordon to justice.
“The public continues to take a stand and assist the VIPD in eradicating these criminals from our community,” he said, adding that information received from the public aided detectives to secure the arrest warrant.
The chief also thanked detectives of the Investigation Bureau, the Major Crime Unit, Special Operations and Forensic technicians who assisted in canvassing the scene of the murder, identifying the victim and interviewing witnesses.
