The story will be updated with a mugshot of the suspect once it's provided by the V.I. Police Department. Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
ST. THOMAS — A judge has ordered a man not to return to his home after he allegedly battered his girlfriend multiple times.
Alexis Kenderson was charged with simple assault and disturbance of the peace after police responded to a domestic dispute in Bovoni on Wednesday night.
Upon arrival at the scene, police found the victim crying loudly and saying, “I am tired of him beating on me, I just want him to stop!” The responding officer observed injuries to her face and hand. The victim said Kenderson had been consuming alcohol all day and began cursing as well as punching and slapping her multiple times about the face and body. She told police that it was the fifth time in two weeks that he had physically abused her. Kenderson was arrested and detained after police located him inside the residence sleeping.
At a Christmas Eve advisement hearing, Assistant V.I. Attorney General Brenda Scales requested that Kenderson’s bail remain set at $1000 and that he be prohibited from returning to the residence. However, Attorney Frederick Johnson argued that $1000 was “entirely excessive”, noting that the defendant had already spent two nights in jail. Johnson further requested that the court not restrict Kenderson from the residence unless the prosecution provided proof that the victim had nowhere else to reside. He asserted that the address where the incident occurred is a family home belonging to Kenderson and his relatives. Johnson asked the court to grant a no contact order and an unsecured bond, “the least onerous restriction” in this case.
Despite the attorney’s arguments, Scales doubled down on her request for a secured bail, stressing that the matter should be taken seriously to ensure the safety of the victim who alleged multiple instances of abuse. According to Scales, for the time being the accused should not be allowed to reside with the victim and she shouldn’t be forced to leave the home based on his wrong doing. Scales further posited that while the Haitian-born defendant has been in St. Thomas for 6 years, there is no indication of a social security number, citizenship or residence card. As such, she suggested that Kenderson could be a flight risk. Johnson, however argued that the defendant only had an expired French passport and no other government ID. He stated that as far as he was concerned, Kenderson “couldn’t leave the island if he wanted to”.
Judge Paula Norkaitis eventually set bail at $1000 with no 10 % provision and ordered Kenderson to have no unlawful contact with the alleged victim.
She stressed that he is not to “assault, batter, abuse, harass, threaten, intimidate or stalk the victim.” Moreover, Kenderson is not to return to the home while the matter is pending, as the Judge affirmed that a necessary cooling off period must occur. While Johnson made a last effort to get the court to reconsider keeping Kenderson away from his home on Christmas, Judge Norkaitis asserted with finality “that is the ruling of the court.”
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