Police officers, EMTs, bystanders and relatives gather at the scene of a triple homicide incident in La Grande Princesse, St. Croix on Tues. July 26, 2022. Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUM
ST. CROIX — The V.I. Police Department on Wednesday afternoon identified the victims of Tuesday night's triple homicide which occurred in La Grande Princesse.
The incident, which took place in the vicinity of a liquor store called Wa U Feel Like and the Titan Service Station, was first reported to the 911 Emergency Call Center at about 9:10 p.m.
Concerned residents reported the discharging of multiple gunshots, and upon arrival to the scene police officers and Emergency Medical Technicians determined the victims to be dead on arrival after examining their bodies.
They were identified by next of kin as 41-year-old Muhammad Asad, 28-year-old Adil Idheileh, and 60-year-old Angel Diaz.
Mr. Dratte on Tuesday night told the Consortium that the third victim was a black male, but on Wednesday he corrected the record, stating that the victim was Hispanic.
Mr. Dratte said the investigation into the incident remains active while detectives "put the pieces together."
Police on Tuesday night cordoned off the area and were performing investigatory work, including the collection of shell casings and scanning surveillance cameras, the V.I.P.D. said.
The Police Department said that due to technical interruptions the press briefing could not move forward, though a video was recorded with comments from Police Commissioner Ray Martinez, Criminal Investigation Bureau Chief, Lieutenant Naomi Joseph, and St. Croix Police Chief Sean Santos.
"The VIPD Communications Department apologizes for the live stream interruptions and is working on correcting the process to bring you a flawless transmission," Mr. Dratte said.
Lieutenant Joseph provided some more information about the incident and sought the community's assistance, specifically those with cameras.
"Our investigation thus far revealed that the men had just exited the smoke shop, closing it up, lock and secured, and were outside when a vehicle stopped and the occupants approached the men and opened fire on them, striking and killing them for the most part instantaneously on the scene," Lt. Joseph said.
She added, "We are actively investigating this matter and following all the leads. What we do need help with is business owners, residents who live anywhere in the Princesse area, Five Corners, anywhere heading to Estate Glynn or up the Benny Benjamin Drive, Sunny Isle east or west, to give us any footage from about 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. last night that would assist us in being able to follow our suspect vehicle from point A to point B."
In the video, Police Commissioner Ray Martinez asked the community for any information they may have. "Vehicles, names, paths of flight — anything that can assist our investigators with bringing these perpetrators to justice," he said.
He further explained that the Police Department's reason for seeking information was to help build stronger cases when these matters go to court.
"What I want the public to understand is that we're not asking you to provide us with the answers to the crimes. What we're asking you to do is provide us with tips that lead us to the crimes; that lead us to closing these cases.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I live in this community, my chiefs, deputy chiefs, our detectives — all of us live in this community. So more times than not, when you feel that we should know the very same information that you do, truth be told is at times we hear the same names that you hear of these perpetrators, but it goes beyond us. We can't take to court the fact that we heard a specific name... That doesn't get us an arrest warrant. It doesn't get us a probable cause to bring those persons to court. Even if we pick these individuals up for questioning, these individuals lawyer up and refuse to give us a statement, and we're back to square one.
"So when we come out and ask you and we plead with you to provide us with information, the information that Lieutenant Joseph and the chiefs and all our detectives continue to ask for is for you to come forward to provide us with the information, because that information helps us to get into court. We need witnesses, we need tangible information — we need evidence that we can put our hands on where judges are going to say 'yes, this is what I can see, this is what's going to be needed to bring this folks to justice,'" Mr. Martinez said.
If you know anything about this triple homicide, the V.I.P.D. is asking that you call 911, the CIB Tip Line at 340-778-4950, 340-712-6092, or send an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers USVI here.
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