Newly appointed St. Thomas-St. John District Police Chief Deborah Hodge is expected to appear at a press briefing Wednesday on St. Thomas and share details about recent homicide investigations, a police spokesperson said.
Two men were killed and another man was wounded in separate shooting incidents on May 3 and May 4. The first one claimed the life of 26-year-old Franky Matthew at the public bathroom in the Fort Christian Parking Lot near Children’s Carnival Village shortly after 11 p.m.
According to a statement issued by the VIPD Communications Unit, authorities were trying to identify one man who died from an apparent gunshot wound in the May 4 incident near Fort Pladsen, near the Village grounds. A second shooting victim was transported from the scene to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital for emergency medical treatment.
Up until the end of Saturday’s Carnival Adults’ Parade, Police Commissioner Mario Brooks was praising the efforts of law enforcement to keep the fete safe and violence-free. At a press briefing held Monday, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. called the shootings “a reminder of the challenges we face as a community.”
But police records filed with Superior Court at the height of Carnival events showed how much effort police and others put into ensuring public safety. Those documents describe the disruption of two altercations — one along the route of the J’ouvert tramp, where arrests were made and firearms confiscated.
A .40 caliber Glock handgun was recovered from one of the two men involved in the altercation while a security guard was restraining him. The suspect, identified as Te’Quan Lance, was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
In the second account, police on patrol in Hospital Ground observed a shouting match between two individuals and heard one person issue a verbal threat. As police approached the scene one saw “what appeared to be a small firearm” in the hand of the person issuing the threat.
Maurice Samuel surrendered after both officers drew their service weapons and ordered him to drop the weapon. He was charged with assault, reckless endangerment, disturbance of the peace and illegal weapons possession.
Both suspects appeared for advice of rights hearings in the Superior Court’s Magistrate Division the following day.
