Crime

Government Moves to End Manslaughter Case Against Kai Jackson Citing Insufficient Evidence

ST. CROIX — The man facing involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide charges for a deadly 2021 car crash will likely now not go to trial, after prosecutors sought to dismiss the charges against him.  Kai Jackson was arrested over a year after the head-on collision between the black Ford F-150 he was driving and the red Suzuki Vitara operated by Sito Martin, who died in hospital as a result of his injuries. Jackson was charged after police determined that the collision occurred in the southbound lane, in which the Vitara was traveling.  Court proceedings began in September 2022. By December of that year, defense counsel had filed to exclude key pieces of evidence in the government's case against Jackson: an affidavit from a police officer and videos from a police “re-enactment” of the incident. The videos and testimony fell far short of the standard required in the territory's Rules of Evidence, the defense argued, especially in light of alleged deficiencies in the police invest...