From left to right, mugshots of Ky-Mani Dolphin, Matthew Niles, and Nigel Titre. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — The V.I. Police Department on Monday issued several press releases regarding alleged criminal activity in St. Thomas, including new information on the investigation into a February double homicide in St. Thomas.
Detectives from the V.I. Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau on Monday provided additional details about the February double homicide that resulted in last week’s arrest of Ky-Mani Dolphin.
That incident resulted in the deaths of Jequan George and Taheem Monsanto, both 21, and gunshot injuries to a third victim. Police now say that Monsanto was not one of the people inside the SUV George was driving when he was shot to death and his passenger injured.
Monsanto reportedly turned up at Schneider Regional Medical Center’s emergency room after George and his unidentified passenger had been transported to hospital by emergency medical technicians, according to police. Detectives continue to investigate the case as Dolphin awaits his advice of rights hearing in court.
Dolphin was arrested in March 2022 and charged with six counts of weapons and drug-related offenses. After an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to failing to report a firearm or ammunition brought into the territory, the five other charges were dismissed. In December, he was given a two-year suspended sentence in the matter, during which he was supposed to be under the supervision of the Department of Probation. Just over two months after Dolphin’s sentencing and supervised release, Jequan George and Taheem Monsanto were dead.
Other V.I.P.D. recent arrests include Matthew Niles, who was charged with unlawful sexual contact in the first-degree, simple assault and disturbance of the peace after being arrested Sunday morning.
Niles, a Kmart employee, is accused of sexually assaulting a female customer at the Tutu Park Mall Kmart two weeks ago, on March 19. Following his arrest, Niles was unable to post the $35,000 bail as set and was remanded into custody pending his advice of rights hearing in court on Monday.
Nigel Titre was also arrested on Sunday, around 2:00 p.m. The mother of his child had called 911 to report that she had been holding their minor child earlier that morning when the two parents got into a verbal dispute. Titre, she said, punched her in the face during the argument, leaving a large bruise above her left eye. By the time responding officers got to the location, Titre had reportedly fled, but later turned himself in after admitting to the assault.
Titre was charged with simple assault and disturbance of the peace, both as acts of domestic violence. Prevailing law dictates that arrests on domestic violence charges do not attract bail, and thus he was remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending his advice of rights hearing.
