A St. Thomas man accused of multiple assaults over nearly two decades was arrested again after allegedly beating and terrorizing his girlfriend, police said Wednesday.
Arnold Malone, 48, surrendered to police Monday afternoon and was charged with domestic violence-related assault and other crimes, according to the Virgin Islands Police Department.
The 26-year-old victim said she was speaking with Malone in her bedroom Sunday evening when he became enraged and started punching her in the head, neck, and shoulders. She sustained multiple injuries but declined medical treatment, police said.
“The female victim expressed extreme fear for her safety, the safety of her two children, cousin, and her mother,” according to a written account from police.
Malone had been out on bail since March 4 and ordered not to break any laws while on home arrest.
The five-foot-four-inch, roughly 175-pound Malone has a long history of violence.
Malone was imprisoned for attempted murder in 2008 for a 2007 Hospital Ground shooting, according to court records. He was up for parole in 2017.
In October 2020, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm after discharging a gun inside a St. Thomas business on Aug. 22, 2019. He’d been denied entry by the store’s manager. Prior to that incident, he was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and carrying/use of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
In September 2022, Malone allegedly banged on a motorist’s windshield for unknown reasons and brandished a handgun. A manhunt ended in March 2023 when police again arrested Malone. But by February 2024, police were again looking for Malone, this time wanted for allegedly firing shots during a fight Jan. 28 near Goat Street.
Miraculously, no one was hurt in efforts to detain Malone, 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.
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.
He was charged with two counts of assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, and three counts of leaving the scene of an accident.
The arrest meant Malone had violated conditions of his parole, according to court records, and in April 2023, he was summoned to District Court. He was again allowed partial freedom on March 4 of this year. Many of the District Court documents are sealed but prosecutors said May 16 they planned to address Malone’s alleged parole violation. He is due back in court on May 24.
