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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Homicides 2019

A chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2019 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as reported by the VIPD. Cases are broken down by island. The Source does not include suicides or vehicular homicides in its listing.

STX – 1
Territory – 1
Date of death – Jan. 1

Joseph O. Brow was shot to death early in the morning of New Year’s Day. At about 5:46 a.m. Tuesday the 911 call center received multiple reports of shots being fired in the Mount Pleasant area of Frederiksted, in the vicinity of the Coconut Bar. Arriving at the scene, officers learned that a gunshot victim, later identified as Brow, had been transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital by private vehicle. Brow had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body, and died of his injuries.

STX – 2
Territory – 2
Date of death – Jan. 4

49-year-old Kailash Banani was shot and killed in the Mount Welcome area of St. Croix. According to police, at about 6:23 p.m., the 911 call center received a report of a shooting in Mount Welcome in the vicinity of the Mahogany Welcome Apartments. Arriving at the scene, officers discovered an unresponsive male individual who appeared to have sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body. The victim was later identified as Banani.

STX – 3
Territory – 3
Date of death – Jan. 8

A 17-year-old male identified by next of kin as Jurvelle Marquell Felixien was killed while riding his bike Tuesday morning in Estate Whim. According to police, at 11:46 a.m. Tuesday the 911 call center received a report of shots fired in Estate Whim in Frederiksted. Officers responded and discovered an unresponsive male individual, later identified as Felixien, lying on the roadway with his bicycle. Preliminary investigation revealed that he was riding his bicycle when a vehicle approached at a high rate of speed, firing shots at the victim while he was riding his bicycle, police said.

STX – 4
Territory – 4
Date of death – Jan. 12

Police arrested 24-year-old Jamal Joseph and charged him with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his brother, 30-year-old Allan Joseph. According to police, at 7:58 a.m. Saturday the 911 dispatcher sent officers to a report of a shooting in Estate Whim. Arriving at the scene, the officers and detectives discovered the unresponsive body of Allan Joseph in his vehicle with what appeared be a gunshot wound to the upper body. Emergency medical technicians and medical attendants at the site were unable to find any vital signs on the victim. Preliminary investigation revealed that both brothers were outside smoking marijuana while other family members were inside the home. The family heard a single shot and shortly after discovered Allan Joseph bleeding from the head.

STX – 5
Territory – 5
Date of death – Jan. 18

A 42-year-old woman, Juana Mateo Perez, was shot to death at a Christiansted bar where she worked as a bartender. According to police, at 8:49 p.m. the 911 dispatcher of shots received reports of shots being fired at the Peace and Love Bar in the vicinity of Market Street in Christiansted. Officers discovered an unresponsive Hispanic female, later identified by next of kin as Perez, with what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to her body. Witnesses told police that a male individual came into the bar, firing shots at the bartender, striking her several times.

STT – 1, 2
Territory – 6, 7
Date of death – March 17

Two men were killed and two people injured Sunday night in a shooting at a St. Thomas dance club. The two victims were later identified as 29-year-old Adrian Aquino Sanchez and 35-year-old Logan Antonio Pujols. According to police, at 11:02 p.m. the 911 call center received a report of multiple shots fired at Mi Bloque Disco at Altona and Welgunst, and that one person had been shot in the chest. At the scene, officers discovered two unresponsive Hispanic males lying on the floor inside of the establishment. EMS arrived on the scene and found no vital signs. Two other people – a man and a woman – were injured and treated at the Gov. Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital.

STT – 3
Territory – 8
Date of death- March 20
Bariki George, a 23-year old employee of the Viking Corporation, located in Estate Thomas on St. Thomas, was killed when he was shot multiple times at work Wednesday morning, allegedly by a fellow employee, according to the V.I. Police Department. Police arrested 36-year-old Russell Moolenar and charge him in the crime. He also worked at Viking.
According to the VIPD, at 8:27 a.m. Wednesday police were called by someone from the Viking Corporation who reported that one of his male employees had been shot in the break room of the business. At the scene, police found the victim, later identified as George, who had sustained several gunshot wounds about his body. Emergency medical technicians were present on the scene and found no vital signs.

STX – 6
Territory – 9
Date of death – March 20
Kelvin Woodson, 59, was killed Wednesday evening in a shooting that followed an argument in Christiansted, according to police. Woodson was known as “Gerbble.” According to the police, at around 10:19 p.m., the 911 center received reports of shots fired, then moments later reports of a man down. At the scene, officers found one male individual with multiple gunshot wounds about the body.

Based on information reported to police, there had been an argument inside of Harmony Groceries and Bar West Lane, Christiansted, between the suspect – who was not identified by police, and the victim. The suspect pulled out a gun and shot him numerous times about the body. A concerned citizen tried to stop the assailant and was grazed by a bullet. Woodson died of his injuries sustained from the gunshots.

STT – 4
Territory – 10
Date of death – April 2
Police arrested 22-year-old Renique Francis and charged him with first degree murder in the stabbing death of a man in Charlotte Amalie. The victim’s name was withheld by police Tuesday pending notification of the next of kin.At 4:45 a.m. the Major Crime Unit was dispatched to the area of the gut on Back Street about a homicide.At the scene, units found an unresponsive black male lying on the ground with what appeared to be blood on his abdomen. Emergency medical technicians were on the scene and determined that the male did not have any vital signs. The male appeared to have sustained stab wounds to his abdomen.

STX – 7
Territory – 11
Date of death – April 3
22-year-old A’shyra Sweeney of St. Croix woman was shot and killed, and as of April 3 police were treating the death as suspicious, pending the medical examiner’s finding. According to police, at around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday the 911 dispatcher notified the Criminal Investigations Bureau about a female being shot in La Vallee, Frederiksted. Responding officers discovered an unresponsive female, who was transported to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead by the emergency room physician.

STT – 5
Territory – 12
Date of death – April 15
At about 1:39 a.m. Saturday, April 13, the 911 call center received a report of shots being fired in Altona. Patrol units traveled to the scene and found a male lying close to a bicycle. He appeared to be unresponsive. The man’s identity or age were not immediately known. The victim was transported by ambulance to the Schneider Regional Medical Center for evaluation. At the hospital, detectives made contact with the medical staff, who told them that the unknown victim was unresponsive and had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. The victim succumbed to his injury at 12:43 p.m. Monday, April 15.

STT – 6
Territory – 13
Date of death – April 17
A man identified by next of kin as 37-year-old Hector Castano Estrella Jr. was shot and killed Wednesday in the Contant area of St. Thomas. At 10:12 p.m. Wednesday, the 911 call center received a report of shots fired in the area of Contant. Shortly thereafter, another caller reported that a man had sustained gunshot wounds and he was being transported to Schneider Regional Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries at approximately 10:51 p.m.

STX – 8
Territory – 14
Date of death – April 18
Raheem Springer, age 25, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds At around 9:27 p.m. 911 received a report of shots fired in the Mount Pleasant Housing Community, across from Plaza West, Frederiksted. Officers responded and discovered a unresponsive black male with multiple gunshot wounds to the body. EMT and Medical personal was present on the scene and was unable to find any vital signs on the victim. The deceased was identified by next of kin as 25 year old Raheem Springer.

STT – 7
Territory – 15
Date of death – May 18
A man identified as 29-year-old Curtis Q. Frederick was shot and killed in Charlotte Amalie. At about 11:25 a.m. the 911 center received a call reporting shots fired in the area Edward Wilmoth Blyden Terminal. Officers from the Major Crimes Unit responded and found an unresponsive black male, later identified by next of kin as Frederick, lying on the ground next to a U.S. Custom vehicle.

STT – 8
Territory – 16
Date of death – June 6
A man identified by next of kin as 27-year-old Clement Alturo King III was shot to death in the Coki Point area. At about 8:57 p.m. the 911 call center received a report of shots fired in the Coki Point area. The caller said a person might have been shot. Units from the Mariel C. Newton Command and units from the Criminal Investigation Bureau traveled to Coki Point, where the body of an unresponsive black male, later identified as King, was discovered in the roadway, near the “Feed Shop.”
The man appeared to have sustained multiple gunshot wounds about his body. Emergency medical technicians were on scene and concluded that the male did not have any vital signs.

STX – 9
Territory – 17
Date of death – June 11
The body 20-year-old Link Baltimore Jr., one of three people arrested in a 2017 east end carjacking and rape case was found shot to death at Concordia Bay in the Frederiksted area. At 10:38 a.m. 911 received a call of a man down at Concordia Bay, Frederiksted. At the scene police discovered the body of an unresponsive man on the floor in the interior of the dwelling. He was identified as Baltimore by next of kin. Baltimore was one of three men arrested been arrested as a suspect in a 2017 rape case. Two women driving on the Eastern Road on Christiansted late May 6, 2017, were stopped, their vehicle stolen and one of the women raped.

STX – 10
Territory – 18
Date of death – June 15
37-year-old Carlos Enrique Diaz was shot and killed outside a bar on St. Croix. According to the V.I. Police Department, at about 3:30 a.m. the 911 dispatcher received a report of a man down outside of Joanna’s Bar in La Grande Princesses. The victim, identified by next of kin as Diaz, sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso and was transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital in a private vehicle where he succumbed to his injuries.

STX – 11
Territory – 19
Sate of death – June 20
Victor Gonzalez, 39, was shot and killed Thursday morning in the Profit Hills Housing Community. According to police, at 12:01 a.m., 911 received calls of a man down at the entrance of Profit Hills Housing Community-Harvey Project. Police arrived and reported back that they didn’t see any evidence of shots being fired. At 6:22 a.m., 911 received a call reporting a “man down” at the entrance of the housing community. Upon arrival, officers discovered the body of an unresponsive Hispanic male who was later identified as Gonzales. The body had been shot multiple times in various areas of the body.

STT – 9
Territory – 20
Date of death – July 4
23-year old Quinland Chetram was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound in the area of Subbase. According to the V.I. Police Department, at 1:24 a.m. patrol officers came upon an unresponsive black male in the Subbase area. The man, later identified as Chetram, appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound to the body. Emergency medical technicians concluded that he did not have any vital signs.

STX – 12
Territory – 21
Date of death – July 21
28-year old Rabbhi D. Mouqete was found unresponsive, with multiple gunshot wounds, in Castle Coakley, near the American Red Cross, after residents reported shots fired around 7:47 p.m.

STX – 13
Territory – 22
Date of death – July 27
At 7:43 p.m. the 911 center received reports of shots fired in Mutual Homes area in Golden Grove and of a man down. At the scene, officers and detectives found the lifeless body, described in the report as “a black Rasta male,” outside of Building 33. Identified as Taheem “Debo” Samuel, he had sustained multiple gun shot wounds to his body. Detectives canvassed the area in an attempt to locate possible witnesses, but did not find anyone.

STT – 10
Territory – 23
Date of death – Aug. 10
The body of a woman whose name has not been released by the VIPD pending notification of next of kin was found on the floor at a residence in Bovoni, in the vicinity of the Purple Shop. Officers on the scene found an unresponsive female lying on the floor of the crime scene in what appeared to be a pool of blood. The officers observed damage to the upper body of the woman, but the police report did not indicate the type of wounds or the instrument that might have caused the damage.

STT – 11
Territory – 24
Date of Death – Aug. 21
A man identified by police as Emarc Antonio Pacheco Correa was injured in a shooting, made his way for help to the Emile C. Berry Fire Station on St. Thomas, but died of his wounds at the Schneider Regional Medical Center. According to police, at 9:22 p.m. Wednesday, officers from the VIPD Richard N. Callwood Command and from the Criminal Investigation Bureau responded to a call from the fire station in Dorothea reporting a gunshot victim. Upon arrival, the officers made contact with a man who appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the neck area. With emergency medical technicians on the scene, the victim was transported to the hospital by ambulance. The man succumbed to his injuries.

STX – 14
Territory – 25
Date of death – Aug. 22
23-year-old Akido Parrilla was killed and three others injured in a shooting in Estate Catherine’s Rest on St. Croix. The victim was identified by family members. Police said that at 7:42 p.m. the 911 operator received calls of shots being fired in Estate Catherine’s Rest, Christiansted. Callers told 911 that one man had been shot and was on the ground. Shortly after police received calls from the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital that three people had walked into the emergency room with gunshot wounds to various part of the body.

STX – 15
Territory – 26
Date of death – Aug. 26
The lifeless body of 51-year-old Eustace Samuel was found Sunday evening in All for the Better, Christiansted. At about 7:54p.m. Sunday, 911 received a call that a man had been shot. At the scene, officers discovered Samuel’s lifeless body. It appeared he had been shot multiple times to the upper body while he was inside his residence. Samuel was identified by family members.

STX – 16
Territory – 27
Date of death – Aug. 20
Several concerned citizens detained a suspect in a shooting on St. Croix in which the victim died. The suspect detained by the crowd was identified as 19-year-old Jurmanie Ajanie Kaieem Forde. The victim was identified by his live-in girlfriend and siblings as 32-year-old Angel Ayala. At 11:35 a.m. Friday the 911 center received a call reporting a shooting victim down in the Candido Guadalupe Housing Community. At the scene, officers found a wounded individual and a possible suspect being held in custody by several concerned citizens.

STX – 17
Territory – 28
Date of death – Sept. 25
Khamir Powell, 23 years old, was shot multiple times in Estate Barren Spot on St. Croix and died of his injuries. At about 10:54 p.m. the 911 call center dispatched officers to Estate Barren Spot for a report of shots being fired. At the scene, officers discovered an unresponsive black male and multiple spent casings on the asphalt surrounding a vehicle and the body on the side of the roadway. The victim, later identified as Powell, sustained multiple shots to the body and succumbed to his injuries.

STX – 18
Territory – 29
Date of Death – Oct. 4.
The body of Robin Hitesman, 56, of St. Croix was found Tuesday, partially buried in a shallow grave. Police have arrested her live-in boyfriend, 51-year-old Daivys Renaldo Vasquez. Hitesman’s family reported her missing and told police that they had not seen her since about 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4. They said she had last been seen with her boyfriend, Vasquez. Hitesman had called the police at about 6:50 p.m. Oct. 4 and reported that her boyfriend had struck her with a machete. Police checked the area but found nothing.

Tuesday, Hitesman’s family began searching the area around the home in Annaly, Frederiksted, and discovered a female body partially buried in a ravine. The body was unearthed with the help of St. Croix Rescue and turned over to the medical examiner’s assistant. The remains were positively identified as Hitesman. Police searched St. Croix for Vasquez, who was located in Christiansted and taken into custody.

STX – 19
Territory – 30
Date of death – Oct. 11
Aaron Benjamin Jr., a 4-year-old from St. Croix, died and his mother and her boyfriend, Delicia Daniel and Kyle Christopher, were arrested and charged with murder in his death. On Oct. 11 the 911 emergency call center received a call from the Lorraine Village Housing Community, in Grove Place on St. Croix, reporting an unresponsive 4-year-old male. At the scene, officers and emergency medical technicians discovered the body of an unresponsive boy inside the apartment on the bathroom floor. CPR was administered by medical attendants unsuccessfully. Medical personnel reported that the minor had been badly abused, malnourished and had different stages of lacerations about his body, the police report said.

STT – 12
Territory – 31
Date of death – Oct. 15
Andre Martin, 29 was found shot and killed the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Estate Thomas area, according to the V.I. Police Department. Next of kin identified the victim. At about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday, the 911 call center received a call from a concerned citizen who said there was a male lying by a vehicle in the Estate Thomas area and the male appeared to have been shot. Officers at the scene discovered an unresponsive male, later identified as Martin, who appeared to have sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency medical technicians on the scene determined that the man did not have any vital signs.

STX – 20
Territory – 32
Date of Death – Nov. 10.
Jeremie St. Rose, 19, was found dead in a car.  Police responding to a citizen’s 911 call about a vehicle blocking the road on the south side of St. Croix Sunday evening discovered St. Rose’s body. According to police, at 11:14 p.m. the 911 emergency center received a call from a concerned citizen who reported a vehicle blocking the South Shore Road south of Sally’s Fancy, Route 624. A few minutes later a second caller reported a man down Officers responded and requested the Criminal Investigation Bureau for a possible homicide. Investigation disclosed that the victim, St. Rose, had received multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Forensic detectives photographed and processed the scene for evidence.

STX – 21
Territory – 33
Date of Death – Nov. 11
Christino Jose Gonzalez, 9, died after being shot in the head while playing outside his home in Croixville Apartments. Police arrested a minor, age 15, in relation to the shooting death. At 6:20 p.m. 911 received call of a nine-year-old male gun shot victim outside of Building C, in front of apartment 9-10. EMS dispatched to the scene attempted to resuscitate the injured minor with no success. The minor was transported to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Preliminary investigation shows the young victim received one gunshot wound to the back of his head.

STX – 22
Territory – 34
Date of death – Nov. 30
At 4:15 p.m. the 911 center received a call reporting shots fired and a man down in Estate Campo Rico. Arriving at the scene, officers found the unresponsive body of an adult male, identified as Kaelan Finney, lying on the ground beside his vehicle. The body had what appeared to be gunshot wounds to his upper torso.

STT – 13
Territory – 35
Date of death – Dec. 7
At 12:03 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, the 911 call center received a call from a concerned citizen who said there had been numerous shots fired in Hospital Ground. Officers were then notified that two gunshot victims were transported to the Roy Lester Schneider Regional Medical Center via private vehicle. Officers traveled to the hospital where they were advised that one victim, identified by next of kin as 32-year-old Cedric Henry, had succumbed to his injuries.

STT – 14
Territory – 36
Date of death – Dec. 21
A man and a woman were shot near noon at Estate Nadir on St. Thomas, and the man, identified as 27-year-old Jackeel L. Henry, died of his injury, the V.I. Police Department reported. There was no report on the condition of the woman as of 8 p.m. Dec. 22.

STT– 15, 16
Territory – 37, 38
Date of death – Dec. 22
Four people were shot, at least two fatally, at the Exclusive Nightclub in Contant. The 911 call center was notified of the incident at 8:50 p.m. Police said reports indicate that two of the victims were pronounced dead as a result of the incident. On Jan. 7 the police released the names of the two men who died as a result of the shooting. The victims are Luis Castillo Agramonte, age 27 and Ivan de Aza, age 45. Police said de Aza shot three people, including Agramonte, who died of his wounds, then was shot and killed.

STT – 17
Territory – 39
Date of death – Dec. 23
31-year-old Kalico Canton died after being shot in the area of Hospital Ground. At approximately 11:07 p.m., VIPD officers responded to the area of Hospital Ground after being notified of the sound of gunfire. Upon their arrival, officers located an individual in the roadway. Further examination revealed that the unresponsive male, identified as Canton, was shot about the body.

STT- 18
Territory – 40
Date of death – Dec. 25
At about 4:15 in the morning on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, a man was shot and killed outside the Banana Split Bar on Brookman Road on St. Thomas, the V.I. Police Department reported. The victim was identified as 29-year-old Francois Champagne.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. It’s our time to shine. Come on people of the Virgin Islands. We don’t need no more homicdies. You see how they treat us after Irmarie like we wild. It’s our time to shine. Come on people of the Vrgin Islands. Don’t let colonialism or lack of representation ruin your mind. Find solutions to end this kind of crime. It’s our time to shine 2019 and beyond!