George Hartford Lewis Jr. was arrested Wednesday in Fayetteville, N.C., for a murder that took place more than a dozen years ago in a Christiansted bar.
Lewis is awaiting extradition to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he will face first-degree murder charges in the 1999 beating death of Juan Antonio Cruz, according to the V.I. Police Department.
The case is being pursued by the cold case squad on St. Croix.
According to the police, Juan Antonio Cruz died April 10, 1999, after being struck on the head with a pool cue while at the La Milagrosa Bar on Company Street in Christiansted. After being beaten he fell into a coma and died the next day at Juan F. Luis Hospital. Cruz was 24 years old at the time of his death.
The police said Cruz identified Lewis as the person who struck him, but Lewis apparently had already fled the island. Police were unable at the time to track down his whereabouts.
Cold case detectives recently ran Lewis’ name through the National Crime Information Center’s database, which identified the suspect as being on supervised probation in North Carolina.
Detectives requested an arrest warrant from the V.I. Superior Court and were granted one Wednesday by Judge Harold Willocks. The warrant was then sent to the U.S. Marshal’s office in North Carolina.
Officials in Fayetteville had no trouble finding the suspect, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Taylor.
"He’s been in trouble here before," Taylor told the Source Thursday. "We knew where to find him. We picked him up about quarter to 5 Wednesday."
The Marshal’s Violent Fugitive Task Force, along with Fayetteville police and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Lewis without incident, Taylor said.
Lewis is being held in Fayetteville’s Cumberland County Jail pending his extradition. Although the date of his extradition has not been determined, police said it will be within the next two weeks.
When he is returned to the territory, he will face charges of first-degree murder and using a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence.
