Aerial shot of the Distict Court on St. Croix. Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUM
ST. CROIX — A major criminal case commenced this week at the District Court on St. Croix as Paul Girard was brought to trial for his alleged role in leading a criminal ring accused of multiple murders and robberies.
Girard is one of six defendants named in a 35-page indictment obtained by the Consortium that lists nearly 50 counts including murder in aid of racketeering, discharging a firearm in a school zone and conspiracy and inference with commerce by robbery. The other defendants are Wahilli James, Shaquielle Correa, Kareem Harry, Tyler Eugene and Shermyra Gumbs.
Girard, aka ‘Bogus’ is accused of leading the criminal organization that prosecutors have labeled the ‘Paul Girard Criminal Enterprise’. According to the indictment, the six defendants along with several other individuals engaged in multiple crimes including murders, armed robberies, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion, money laundering and distribution of controlled substances within the Virgin Islands and elsewhere. Prosecutors allege that these acts were committed for the purposes of “enriching, preserving, expanding, and protecting the power, territory, and prestige” of the enterprise.
It is believed that Girard and the ‘Enterprise’- including a now-deceased associate- planned, organized and executed several crimes in furtherance of these criminal motives. Members are accused of violently confronting and retaliating against rivals as well as keeping potential victims and rival gang members in fear through threats and acts of violence. It is further alleged that the ‘Enterprise’ used commercial aircrafts to deliver controlled substances to mainland USA and to transport the proceeds back to the Virgin Islands. According to the indictment, investigators also maintain that they used Western Union, Money Gram and other wire transmission businesses to launder the earnings from their criminal activities. Girard is believed to have served as leader of the criminal ring both while free and while incarcerated at various facilities, according to the indictment.
Mugshot of Paul Girard, also known as Bogus. (The V.I. Police Department)
Among the crimes investigators have pinned to Girard and his associates are the murders of three victims only identified by their initials in the indictment. These include the July 2014 killing of a man who the ‘Enterprise’ believed stole from one of their members, according to the indictment. Another murder occurred near a Mars Hill supermarket in February 2016. Girard and his criminal associates are also accused of fatally gunning down a man at the St. George Christian Academy on St. Croix. The September 2015 killing was widely publicized throughout local media. The indictment notes that that victim was believed to be a member of a rival gang who had robbed a member of Girard’s ‘Enterprise’.
The gang is also accused of the attempted kidnapping of an unnamed individual in Christiansted in December 2014, as well as the attempted murder of at least 9 individuals in St. Croix. These include a November 2015 attempt on the lives of two rival gang members at Marley Homes Housing Community and a December 2015 attempt against two individuals at the Walter M. Hodge housing community. Another alleged murder attempt in February 2016 targeted three rival gang members at the Aurora Diaz Housing Community while a March 2016 incident that involved two individuals at Concordia Service Station in Frederiksted.
Girard and members of his ring are also accused of a string of armed robberies in St. Croix and St. Thomas between August 2011 and September 2015. The targeted businesses include multiple jewelry stores, bars and a racetrack casino. They have also been named in the December 2015 attempted armed robbery of a bank employee. Girard and multiple other defendants face possible life imprisonment without parole, the maximum sentence for individuals convicted of murder.
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