Assistant Attorney General Kip Roberson was angry Friday – angry and determined.
Roberson’s house in Estate St. George burned Thursday, a total loss to both the structure and its contents, and while police and fire officials spoke of "suspicious circumstances," the St. Croix prosecutor made no bones about it.
"It’s definitely arson, criminal activity," he said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon.
Dispatchers at the 911 center received a call about the fire at 11:09 a.m. Thursday about a structure fire. Arriving at the scene, they discovered circumstances that led them to believe it had been deliberate, starting with the security surveillance system, which had been disabled before the fire started. Other conditions at the scene also led to the suspicion of arson, according to V.I. Fire Service Chief Angel Torres.
Roberson said the crime was almost certainly aimed personally at him and his work as a prosecutor, sending criminals to jail. Family and friends of someone he convicted or is prosecuting now are the most likely candidates, he said.
Crime is out of control in the territory, Roberson said, and now he and his family have lost everything. But it left him determined to push forward.
"I’m not so much scared as angry," he said. "I hate criminals, and this is just one more reason to hate them. I want to catch them, catch the piece of trash that does something like this to people."
Roberson didn’t have a specific suspect in mind, saying "there’s been some speculation but I haven’t heard anything solid."
In the meantime, he said, "I just go work with our insurance company and try to rebuild our lives."
V.I. police continue to investigate, according to department spokeswoman Melody Rames, but will not comment on the case.
"I can check with the officers," she said, "but I doubt they would really commit to any comments until the investigation is complete."
Rames said reports in the media can complicate a case when it comes to trial, with defense attorneys pointing to inconsistencies in comments to cast doubt on a solid case.
At the V.I. Fire Service, Torres likewise declined to comment, saying, "Until we confirm what this was, we cannot confirm fully that it is arson."
Torres did confirm that the home was "a total loss: the home was totally consumed by the fire, and so were the contents."
