Two men – Treson Stephens and Ron Kuntz – have been returned to St. Thomas and arrested on warrants charging them in a pair of unrelated crimes, a murder and an armed robbery, according to the V.I. Police Department.
At about 4:50 p.m. Friday, 25-year-old Treson Stephens was arrested on a warrant issued by the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. Police said he had been identified as one of three individuals involved in the fatal shooting of Shacoi Benjamin, age 22, just outside the former Blitz Night Club on Oct. 19, 2014.
Stephens, of Bergs Home, was extradited from the state of Tennessee after he was detained by Tennessee police. He waived extradition and was brought back to St. Thomas to face charges of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, possession of an unlicensed firearm, reckless endangerment, and aiding and abetting.
On Saturday, 42-year-old Ron Kuntz was arrested on a warrant issued by the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands after he was apprehended and detained in Tempe, Arizona after a routine traffic stop. Arizona police discovered there was an outstanding warrant for Kuntz from the U.S. Virgin Islands charging him with armed robbery.
According to police, Kuntz and other individuals were identified as being responsible for the armed robbery of Gems & Gold Corner on Sept. 16, 2013. He waived extradition and was returned to St. Thomas to face charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, grand larceny, first-degree assault, third-degree assault, destruction of property, and aiding and abetting.
Bail for Kuntz was set at $150,000 and he was remanded to the Bureau of Corrections, pending his Advise of Rights Hearing.
Both suspects were identified through the National Crime Information Center.
Police urged anyone with information about any crimes please to contact the VIPD at 340-774-2211, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-714-9801, 911, or the anonymous top service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477.
