Mugshot of murder suspect Richardson Dangleben Jr., age 50. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — One man is dead and another is in custody after a shooting near Hospital Ground in St. Thomas on Friday, as total homicide deaths in the territory for 2023 climbs to 8.
The V.I. Police Department issued a statement indicating that someone had called 911 around 1:47 pm reporting that shots had been fired in the upper Hospital Ground area. A man had been taken to the Schneider Regional Medical Center for emergency medical treatment after sustaining at least one gunshot wound to his upper body, police report. However, 68-year-old Keith Jennings did not survive.
Meanwhile, shortly after the first 911 report, a man called 911 to report that he was the one who had shot Mr. Jennings. Police then arrested 50-year-old Richardson Dangleben Jr. and charged him with first-degree murder.
The investigation into Mr. Jennings’s homicide is still active, and police are urging anyone in the community who may have more information about the incident to contact the VIPD (350.774.2211), the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division (340.642.8449), or Crime Stoppers V.I. with an anonymous tip here.
Friday's homicide was the eighth in the USVI for 2023, which had recorded four in the month of January alone. The first homicide occurred on Jan. 15 in Market Square, St. Thomas, where a man was pronounced dead after being shot multiple times, while the second incident took place in Coki Point on Jan. 19, according to the police department. The third occurred in Sunny Isle, St. Croix, where a hail of gunfire resulted in the death of 20-year-old Andy Christian of Estate Whim. On Sunday Jan. 29, 31-year-old Chandler Heath was shot dead in Bolongo, St. Thomas, then on Monday, Feb. 13, 27-year-old Ajaye Thompson was shot to death in the area of Lovenlund, St. Thomas at about 8:32 p.m. On February 20, two men were pronounced dead and another was hospitalized after a shooting in Norre Gade, St. Thomas, near the Lutheran Church.
