With four vehicles damaged and shots fired, St. Thomians were granted a little peace of mind Monday when police reported they had apprehended a violent felon on the lam this weekend. Meanwhile, police were investigating three seemingly unrelated shootings that occurred early Saturday and Sunday.
Miraculously, no one was hurt in efforts to detain Arnold Alphonso Malone, 48, who police said rammed several cars while fleeing a traffic stop Friday. Questioned for having illegally dark tinted windows, Malone sped away from police westward on Veterans Drive, damaging two vehicles along the way. Police were briefly able to corner Malone’s white 2014 Mercedes near the former Mitchell Motel but Malone reversed into the side of a squad car, nearly striking the officer standing nearby, according to court records.
Malone was wanted for allegedly firing shots during a fight Jan. 28 near Goat Street.
During the melee, a police officer fired at least one shot out of fear of being fired upon, according to court records. They’d been briefed that day that Malone had made threats against police and said he was “not going back to jail,” according to police.
Malone’s prediction proved false as he surrendered Sunday afternoon with his attorney, police said. He was charged with two counts of assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, and three counts of leaving the scene of an accident.
Malone appeared in court Monday.
The five-foot-four inch, roughly 175-pound Arnold Alphonso Malone has a long history of violence.
Police had been on the lookout for Malone after he was identified as the shooter in a Jan. 28 altercation.
He had been arrested on assault charges in March 2023 for an alleged September 2022 attack where he accosted a parked motorist. The victim told police he was sitting in his car when, for no apparent reason, Malone, muttering to himself, banged on the windshield and pointed a handgun at the motorist. The victim said Malone accused him of “talking about him with other people,” then walked away, but then returned and pointed the firearm directly at his face, according to court records. The victim said Malone pointed the weapon at him three times.
In January 2020, Malone pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm for an Aug. 22, 2019, shooting incident where he shot up a business after being denied entry, according to court records.
Malone faced a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release and a fine of as much as $250,000. However, had the court determined he was an armed “career criminal,” he could have been sentenced to imprisonment from 15 years to life.
Prosecutors gave Malone a deal to plead guilty, where he would serve 33 months in prison and be placed on supervised release for three years.
Malone faced felony charges Feb. 2, 2006, as well, but the nature of the crime was unclear as Virgin Islands Superior Court records online were incomplete.
In 2008, the Bureau of Corrections labeled Malone one of the territory’s most dangerous and “difficult to handle” prisoners. He and 97 others were flown from St. Croix’s Golden Grove to prisons in Virginia.
Despite being labeled too dangerous to be housed in St. Croix, Malone was up for parole on an attempted murder conviction in June 2017.
Police were investigating three other St. Thomas shooting incidents that happened before dawn Saturday and Sunday.
Police said two people were parked at Drake’s Seat around 1 a.m. Saturday when an SUV pulled up. Two of the three men inside got out and robbed the victims at gunpoint. During the robbery, a struggle ensued between one of the victims and a suspect, and as a result, one of the robbery victims was shot. The victims were able to flee to Roy Lester Schneider Regional Medical Center.
On Sunday, a little after 1 a.m., police made contact with another gunshot victim at Schneider Medical Center. The woman was the passenger in a vehicle driving along Smith Bay Road. As it approached the Sapphire Beach Resort area, someone shot several times at the vehicle, striking the victim in the upper arm.
Less than two hours later, police were back at the hospital, where a man was being treated for a gunshot to the foot. The victim said someone attacked him from behind in Frenchtown’s The Jungle Night Club. He was knocked to the ground but bystanders were able to end the fight. As the man left, a black truck drove up and someone inside opened fire. The victim was able to flee despite a gunshot wound to his left foot.
