Mugshot of Keneisha Daniel. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — Keneisha Daniel is back before the criminal courts facing assault charges once again.
On March 14 just before 10:00 p.m., police responded to a disturbance at Anna’s Retreat where they met with a woman who reported that she was home earlier that day when she heard her mother screaming her name and the sound of a can horn outside.
When she went outside to see what the commotion was about, she says she saw her brother and Keniesha Daniel, the mother of his children, tussling inside her brother’s car. She told police she kept asking her brother why he would bring Daniel to their house, and asking Daniel why she was there. As she stood watching to see whether the pair’s skirmish would subside or escalate, the woman said Daniel spotted her and accused her of calling the police on her.
Then, according to documents presented in court, Daniel attacked the woman, throwing her to the ground, placing her hands around the neck of her children’s aunt, and squeezing. The woman’s brother – the father of Daniel's minor children – intervened and pulled Daniel off of his sister.
For his part, the man told police that Daniel had called him, saying that she was stranded at a nearby supermarket, with groceries. Since he was about to drop their children off at her house, he said he decided to pick her up and take her home. Once he had collected her from the supermarket, however, they began to argue. The man said that Daniel took his keys out of the ignition near the Alvin McBean Ballpark, and a passerby had to step in to assist the man with retrieving his keys from Daniel. He drove off, the man told police, leaving Daniel near the ballpark.
The court heard that the man got home and was reversing into his driveway when Daniel appeared in his yard, attacking him while he was still in his car. A stranger driving by stopped their vehicle and got out in an attempt to separate the two. In the melee, the siblings’ mother said she saw Daniel stab her son’s tires. At some point, Daniel is said to have run inside the house to continue fighting with her children’s father, and on her way back outside, she reportedly slipped and fell down the stairs.
Daniel was transported to hospital for treatment, following which she was arrested and charged with simple assault, destruction of property as an act of domestic violence, and disturbance of the peace.
Just before 6:00 a.m. the next morning, Wednesday March 15, Daniel left the hospital, in what police say was an attempt to evade arrest. She was arrested again, and this time slapped with an additional charge of escape from the custody of an officer.
This is not the first time Daniel is appearing before the courts. In December 2021 she was arrested for a slew of misdemeanor offenses after a series of police reports made by her and her ex-boyfriend. In May 2022, prosecutors moved to dismiss the matter, without prejudice, a request that was granted by the judge.
In September of that year, Daniel was arrested again after allegedly using a metal bat to attack a tow truck that was attempting to take away her illegally parked vehicle. In that matter, Daniel reportedly agreed to a plea deal and is awaiting sentencing.
In this most recent matter, Daniel’s bail was initially set at $26,000 with her advice of rights hearing scheduled for Friday March 17, 2023. As of press time, no information about potential pre-trial release conditions has been posted by the court.
