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2017 mushot of Samuel Roberts. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — The V.I. Dept. of Justice announced Tuesday that a Superior Court jury on Friday found Samuel Roberts guilty of murder following a shooting in 2017 that left McDonald Samuel dead and Taheem Samuel injured.
According to the D.O.J., the prosecution team proved to the jury that on January 31, 2017, in the vicinity of Building 17 Lorraine Village, Apartments in Frederiksted, Roberts, between ages 24 and 25, unlawfully and with malice aforethought, did, with willful, deliberate and premeditated design, kill McDonald Samuel with a firearm capable of expending .40 caliber bullets within 1,000 feet of the Eulalie Rivera Elementary School.
The trial began on Monday, June 27 in V.I. Superior Court on St. Croix and ended with a guilty verdict Friday, the D.O.J. said. Roberts was found guilty of first-degree murder, unauthorized possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, unauthorized possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, first-degree assault on McDonald Samuel, first-degree assault on Taheem Samuel, possession of ammunition, third-degree assault on Taheem Samuel, third-degree assault on McDonald Samuel, first-degree reckless endangerment, and failure to report firearms obtained outside or brought into the Virgin Islands.
Roberts was also charged with assault with intent to commit murder as he assaulted Taheem Samuel with a firearm.
According to court documents, police said on that day in 2017, the call center received reports of shots fired at Lorraine Village between Buildings 16 and 17. On the scene, police found McDonald Samuel unresponsive on the ground with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Taheem Samuel escaped with gunshot wounds.
Both men were taken to Juan F. Luis Hospital and McDonald Samuel of Estate Strawberry was pronounced dead by the emergency room doctor. An autopsy disclosed that he died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Taheem Samuel was treated for a gunshot wound to his right arm and a graze wound to his right chest. Police were able to retrieve surveillance video and received witness statements during the investigation.
