Man Shot to Death at His Sion Farm Home In First Homicide of 2020; Suspect in Custody

  • Staff Consortium
  • January 12, 2020
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Malik Iles By. The VIRGIN ISLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT

ST. CROIX — A man was shot to death at his own residence during the wee hours of Sunday morning, the V.I. Police Department has announced. The homicide was the first of 2020 in the territory, according to V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Toby Derima.

Mr. Derima said that at approximately 2:38 a.m. Sunday, the 911 emergency call center received notification of shots fired at a residence in Estate Sion Farm. Officers traveled to the location and found the body of an unresponsive male who sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

The male individual, who died at the scene, was identified as 34-year-old Ray Thomas, who was the resident at the location.

Later that day, at 6:23 p.m., police arrested Malik Iles, age 20 of Barren Spot, and charged him with first-degree murder and domestic violence in connection with Mr. Thomas’s killing.

The V.I.P.D. thanked the public for its cooperation in the timely arrest in this case. "We continue to encourage anyone with information on crimes to call 911, the Crime TipLine at (340) 778-4950, or Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS," the police force said.

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