Trial for Officer David Stevens, charged with involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Kendall Petersen Jr. during a police raid Jan. 5, 2012, was tentatively scheduled for the period between April 2 and 25, during a V.I. Superior Court calendar call hearing Wednesday.
Stevens’ attorney, David Cattie, filed motions this week to change the venue, which, if approved, would mean the trial will take place on St. Thomas rather than on St. Croix, where Petersen was killed. Cattie also requested some additional time for the collection of evidence for the defense.
Saying the court had previously granted Stevens permission to reside out of the territory until the trial, Cattie asked V.I. Superior Court Judge Darryl Donohue to waive the requirement that Stevens be present at calendar calls before the trial. Donohue granted the request.
Stevens appeared clean cut with close cropped hair, a pressed blue dress shirt and a yellow tie. He stood quietly next to Cattie and did not speak.
Stevens allegedly shot and killed Kendall Petersen Jr., 30, son of Fifth V.I. Constitutional Convention Delegate Kendall "Seigo" Petersen early in the morning of Jan. 5, 2012, while executing a search warrant on Hospital Street.
According to police, the warrants concerned two murder investigations. Police have not released further information regarding those murder investigations to the public.
Police say officers entered the Frederiksted residence at about 6:30 a.m. that day and began securing the inside of the home while other officers began securing the outside perimeter, including the back yard area, where officers outside saw a man exiting the home carrying a firearm.
Police say they ordered the individual several times to stop, but that the individual ran around the corner of the building, doubled back and began advancing toward the police officers. Officers again ordered him to stop and the individual continued advancing on officers, according to the report.
Stevens fired one shot, which hit the suspect in his upper body, according to police.
Petersen was taken to Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital by ambulance for treatment and subsequently passed away from his wounds.
A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the rear of the building. A waist holster, which was located near the firearm, was also taken into police custody, as well as approximately three pounds of marijuana and roughly $6,000 in cash, which relatives said was for rent, bills and savings toward buying a car.
Police have not alleged that Petersen was armed at the moment he was shot.
According to the victim’s father, the gun was found in an immediately adjacent yard, on the far side of a dividing fence, not in his son’s yard. The father also says the three pounds of marijuana were for personal use.
Stevens is on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the trial. He was arrested Oct. 31 and charged with involuntary manslaughter, after a V.I. Justice Department investigation concluded Stevens improperly discharged his police-issued service weapon, killing Petersen.
The father and several other family members have also filed a wrongful death civil suit in Superior Court, which is currently pending scheduling for a jury trial.
At a press conference shortly after the shooting, the family’s attorney, Martial Webster, questioned whether the use of force was justified under the circumstances of the case. "Is it worth breaking down a door in the middle of the night with guns drawn where you and your wife are sleeping for three pounds of marijuana?" Webster asked, while announcing the family’s plans to file suit over Petersen’s death.
