Mugshot of Jamain Riley. Photo Credit: THE VIRING ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A woman’s ex-boyfriend is facing attempted murder and multiple firearm charges after police say he entered the Work & Rest home she shares with her current boyfriend and two daughters, pointed a gun at the boyfriend and opened fire while the woman and children were inside, striking the man in the hand.
Jamain Riley turned himself in Monday night following an investigation that began Saturday afternoon, when the injured boyfriend called 911 and reported that Mr. Riley had shot him.
The victim told responding officers that he lives at the residence with his girlfriend and her two daughters. He said their relationship had been under strain because the woman maintains a friendship with Mr. Riley, her former boyfriend.
On the day of the shooting, the man said his girlfriend was speaking by telephone with her minor daughters and instructed them not to come to the house. Instead, she asked that Riley take them to the home of another relative. After the call ended, the boyfriend said he confronted her about continuing to rely on her ex-boyfriend for favors while she was in a new relationship.
During that argument, the man said he saw Riley’s vehicle pull into the yard. The woman’s daughters went inside the home, while Riley approached and stood near the front door.
The boyfriend told police that he ordered Riley not to enter his house. According to the victim, Riley responded by drawing a black-and-silver firearm, possibly a revolver, before stepping inside and advancing toward him while pointing the weapon.
The victim said he heard one gunshot, followed by screams from his girlfriend and her daughters. He began pushing the woman and children toward the bedrooms in an effort to get them to safety, he told police.
While he was trying to secure the children, Riley allegedly fired a second time, striking the boyfriend in the hand. The injured man then fled into his bedroom.
Shortly afterward, he came out to check on his girlfriend and the children and found them on the floor but uninjured. Riley had fled, according to police. Bleeding heavily from his hand, the man called 911.
Investigators also interviewed Riley’s ex-girlfriend, who police said corroborated the sequence of events described by her current boyfriend. She told officers that her friendship with Mr. Riley is platonic and that she occasionally asks him for rides because neither she nor her current boyfriend has a vehicle.
The woman said she did not remember what happened after hearing the second popping sound and seeing her boyfriend run screaming toward his bedroom. She told police she may have lost consciousness. When she regained awareness, she said, her daughters were beside her on the floor and her boyfriend was nearby bleeding heavily from his hand.
The children also provided police with accounts consistent with those given by their mother and her boyfriend.
Investigators determined that Riley does not have a license to carry a firearm in the Virgin Islands.
Riley surrendered to police Monday night but declined to provide a statement. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, third-degree assault, carrying of firearms openly or concealed, carrying or using a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, possession or sale of ammunition, discharging or aiming firearms, and reckless endangerment.
His advice-of-rights hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning before Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross. As of press time, however, the Superior Court’s public docket contained no information confirming whether Mr. Riley appeared before the judge or the outcome of any hearing.
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