Mugshot of Kahiyla Charles. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — Kahiyla Charles has been arrested and charged after police say last week’s Red Hook Ferry Terminal brawl left an adult woman hospitalized with facial fractures and severe swelling to her face and eyes, including one eye that was completely swollen shut.
The July 1 violence followed St. John Celebration activities, when patrons heading back to St. Thomas were gathered at the St. John ferry terminal in the early morning hours and a large fight broke out.
According to police, a minor girl who was at the terminal with another minor and an adult said the crowd was pushing and shoving when she made a comment about the behavior. Another minor girl reportedly confronted her verbally about the remarks, and the dispute between the two escalated into a physical confrontation.
Bystanders and law enforcement personnel broke up that fight. The first group of three then boarded the ferry, unaware whether the group containing their opponents had also gotten onto the same boat.
The minor girl told police that when she disembarked in St. Thomas, she saw the other group. The other girl pointed her out to her companions. The first minor urged her own group to leave the dock quickly, but was reassured that another fight was unlikely.
That reassurance proved wrong, according to police, when the second group approached the first group in a confrontational manner. Another fight soon broke out between the groups and escalated into a larger brawl.
At some point during the altercation, the adult woman in the first group was attacked by a woman later identified as Ms. Charles. Describing her by her clothing, the injured woman told police that she saw Ms. Charles step in front of her, then woke up in the hospital vomiting, with no memory of what happened in between. She later learned that an ambulance had transported her to the hospital.
Police noted the woman’s injuries, including facial fractures and swelling to her face and eyes, with her left eye completely swollen shut.
The second minor in the first group corroborated the account to police and said she also had been struck during both fights. She also told police that although several officers were present when the St. Thomas altercation occurred, only one actively intervened to stop the violence.
Surveillance footage from the ferry dock, along with videos of the incident circulating publicly, supported the sequence of events described to police. The adult woman was captured on video lying on the ground while Ms. Charles, the aggressive minor from the other group, and an unidentified male stomped on her body and face, according to police.
Ms. Charles surrendered to police on July 5, one day after a wanted poster was issued in her name. She was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, simple assault and disturbance of the peace.
Unable to immediately pay the initial $25,000 bail assessment, Ms. Charles was remanded into custody pending her advice of rights hearing.
As of press time, public records of Monday’s advice of rights hearing had not been made available. Her arraignment has been scheduled for July 24.
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