Detectives from the V.I. Police Major Crimes Unit arrested a suspect in Sunday’s fatal Garden Street shooting as he attempted to flee the territory, taking him off a ferry that was about to take him out of U.S. jurisdiction, the police reported Monday.
Acting on a confidential tip received by detectives, police arrested 22-year-old Giraldy Jean-Simon and charged him with the Garden Street murder of Sunny Rodriquez. Jean-Simon was located at the Wilmoth Blyden Marine Terminal, where he had purchased a ticket and was aboard the 8:45 a.m. ferry bound for the British Virgin Islands when he was taken into custody.
Jean-Simon was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, third-degree assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. He was denied bail and placed into the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending his advices of rights hearing.
St. Thomas St. John Police Chief Darren Foy thanked the members of the Major Crime and Intelligence units for their swift action, taking the suspect into custody when he was attempting to flee the jurisdiction.
Police investigating a call of shots fired Sunday about 8 p.m. in the Garden Street area discovered the body of 41-year-old Sunny Rodriguez behind the Adult Education building. The victim had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel, according to the report.
Police said their investigation revealed that the victim was involved in a physical altercation with another Hispanic male on Commandant Gade and was chased behind the building by at least two people.
The Garden Street killing was one of two murders that occurred Sunday on St. Thomas, the first two homicides of 2013 in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The police announcement said officers are seeking a person of interest in the other case, in which Lucas Reid Jr. was found in the area known as Jah Yard in Hospital Ground about 10:15 a.m.
Police discovered Reid’s body in the drivers’ seat of his Honda Civic, which had collided into a wall near the Moravian cemetery. Reid had been shot several times and the vehicle sustained several bullet holes.
Police are urging anyone who has information regarding either case to call detectives at 715-5522 or 715-5516, or call the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-TIPS.
The police chief said too many young people are losing their lives to gun violence and the community has to find ways to curb this.
“Find another way to settle disputes,” Foy said. “If you are involved in a situation that begins to get out of hand, get out of the area, go somewhere else. And if a shooting occurs, continue to tell police what you know so the perpetrator can be arrested.”
