The man accused of fatally shooting a St. Thomas policeman may soon have a chance to declare himself guilty or innocent in court. Defendant Richardson Dangleben Jr. was arrested July 4 in Hospital Ground after surrendering to authorities.
Police and prosecutors say Dangleben shot and killed police detective Delberth Phipps Jr. during an armed confrontation. At the time, authorities said, the defendant was awaiting trial for an alleged murder of Keith Jennings on Feb. 24.
Federal Justice officials, working through the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Virgin Islands, took charge of the case by mid-July. Dangleben is now charged with killing a police officer while they were discharging their duty and possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number.
He is now being held at a federal detention center in Puerto Rico, awaiting a scheduled arraignment hearing. But arguments over whether charges should apply will be addressed in court.
Defense attorney Matthew Campbell asked U.S. Magistrate Ruth Miller to toss the gun charge based on a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. A few days later, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Payne told the court that Dangleben was not a law-abiding citizen, so invoking the New York case was invalid.
All of those arguments made their way through District Court on St. Thomas by July 17. Campbell then asked Miller for more time to file a reply because he had to travel to the U.S. mainland to handle Jan. 6-related cases.
And after that, he told the court some personal time off.
“The undersigned counsel’s first day back in office will be August 7, 2023,” the defense attorney said.
Federal court calendars in the V.I. show signs of busy calendars for judges and magistrates in both districts. Additional filings in the Dangelben case may lead to more hearings, but their timing, for now, is uncertain.
