Police on St. Thomas arrested 17-year-old Bertstrand Gilkes, Jr. and charged him with first-degree murder after he was bound over as an adult, the V.I. Police Department reported.
Gilkes was arrested in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old St. Thomas native Oshlyn Francis, Jr. of Jenny’s Hope. The incident occurred in September 2010 in Thomasville.
Gilkes was 16 when Francis was shot. At the time Gilkes was placed in custody at the Youth Rehabilitation Center on St. Croix while detectives continued their investigation. On Thursday, he was bound over as an adult by the V.I. Superior Court to face his criminal charges.
Gilkes was also charged with first-degree assault, possession of an unlicensed firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, second-degree murder and possession of stolen property.
He was held without bail and remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending his detention hearing.
