Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting in Estate Glynn on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, where 25-year-old D'Andre Friday was killed. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
The V.I. Police Department said Sunday night that the St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island district recorded 19 homicides in 2025, while the St. Croix district recorded 16, according to figures presented during the department’s 2025 recap.
Lieutenant Richard Dominguez, chief of detectives for the St. Thomas-Water Island-St. John district, said the district’s 19 homicides represented a 24 percent drop from the previous year. He said the cases ranged from domestic violence incidents to targeted acts of gun violence and isolated interpersonal disputes.
On St. Croix, Lieutenant Marisol Colon, commander of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, said the district recorded 16 homicides in 2025.
Together, the figures presented by the department amount to 35 homicides across the two police districts in the Virgin Islands.
Dominguez said investigators in the St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island district arrested and charged four suspects in homicide cases during 2025, obtained an arrest warrant for one additional suspect who has since fled the jurisdiction, and cleared two other homicide cases through exceptional means.
He said several homicide arrests were made within days of the incidents, which he attributed to enhanced response protocols, improved scene management, and stronger coordination with forensic services, prosecutors and partner agencies. He added that the remaining 2025 homicide cases in the district remain active and are pending further forensic, ballistic or witness development.
Among the 19 homicides he listed were two that occurred on St. John on June 22. Dominguez also said an unidentified victim found on Aug. 13 in an advanced state of decay had not yet been identified at the time of the presentation.
On St. Croix, Colon said the Criminal Investigation Bureau had 445 cases assigned in 2025 and made 108 arrests. She said two homicide cases resulted in arrests: the June 25 killing of Jordan Jones at the boardwalk, in which a 15-year-old minor was arrested, bound over as an adult and is awaiting trial, and the Dec. 30 killing of Janice Rivera at Estate Rattan, in which Jaden M. Francis, 22, was arrested and charged.
Colon also stated that detectives investigated two police shooting involvement cases in 2025, one involving Keja Andreos on Jan. 5 in Frederiksted and another involving Alejandro Torres on July 17 in Christiansted. She said detectives with the Major Crime Unit completed their investigations in both matters and were awaiting the Office of the Attorney General to conclude its part.
She further said 12 homicide cases on St. Croix remain pending and are still actively being investigated, with some awaiting DNA and other results from the FBI.
In addition to outlining open cases, Colon highlighted several convictions and guilty pleas tied to earlier homicide matters. She said Ryan Branch pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2023 killing of Milton Gordon, also known as Mobile; Jared Dover pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2024 killing of Michael Edwards; Curtis Tongue was sentenced to life in prison in the 2024 killing of Kwan Sahib; and Carlos Ayala pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2024 killing of Errol Sanjin.
The Sunday night presentation showed a mixed picture of violent crime in the territory. The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island district still recorded the higher homicide total in 2025, but police said the district also saw a meaningful decline from the year before. St. Croix recorded fewer homicides, though many of its cases remain open and some are still awaiting forensic results.
Officials in both districts used the presentation to urge the public to come forward with information, saying witness cooperation, forensic evidence and surveillance footage remain critical to solving violent crimes.
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