Rajah Caul Jr., 25, was sentenced on Sept. 30 to 30 in prison for the January 2021 homicide of Michael Anthony Cruz, V.I. Attorney General Designee Gordon C. Rhea announced Thursday.
V.I. Superior Court Judge Alphonso G. Andrews, Jr. sentenced Caul Jr., whose attorney had
requested a prison term of just 10 years. Caul had previously entered a plea to murder in the second degree on July 15, according to the press release.
On Jan. 12, 2021, 23-year-old Cruz was fatally shot as he arrived for work in Gallows Bay. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses showed Caul Jr. and another individual arriving in a stolen red Jeep Grand Cherokee and parking near the Marshall & Sterling Insurance building shortly after Cruz arrived. The two suspects waited for Cruz to walk by and then fired multiple shots at Cruz before fleeing. Cruz succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, the press release stated.
