Darren Bess was extradited to St. Croix on Monday and charged with the 2021 murder of Kevin Jerome, the V.I. Police Department reported.
Bess was charged with murder in the first degree, assault in the first degree, carrying of firearms openly or concealed in the commission of a crime of violence, unauthorized possession of ammunition, and reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the police report.
On Wednesday, March 6, Bess, 29, was arrested in Placer County, California, on a VIPD warrant for the murder of Jerome. He remained detained until his extradition to the Virgin Islands to face the charges, according to the release.
Unable to post bond, he was remanded to the John Bell Correction Facility. Bess was advised of his rights on Tuesday and he was released to a family member on an unsecured bond and is now on 24-hour house arrest with electronic monitoring, it said.
On Feb. 26, 2021, at approximately 9:57 a.m., 911 was notified of shots fired and a man down on Main Street in Williams Delight. Upon the officers’ arrival, they discovered a Black male with a gunshot wound to his head and an older model SUV with multiple bullet holes. The man was transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. His parent identified him as 30-year-old Kevin Jerome, the police report stated.
Investigation revealed that Bess conspired with Ian Benjamin Jr. to kill Jerome and that Benjamin killed Jerome, the report stated.
On Friday, March 1, Benjamin Jr., 22, was arrested without incident and remanded to the John Bell Correctional Facility after he could not post his $1 million bail. He was advised of his rights on Monday, March 4 and released on an unsecured bond in the third-party custodianship of a family member, it said.
