ST. THOMAS — Last week, police arrested a man who has been under investigation for a March shooting in Charlotte Amalie.
According to court documents, reports of a shooting came in during the pre-dawn hours of March 10, 2024. Several officers responding to the location on General Gade found “several spent shell casings leading from the southern door of Savanero Restaurant on to Redjerins Gade, according to documents presented to court. They reportedly also found blood stains on the ground, and took both samples and casings into evidence. After initial investigations, police discovered that one man had been shot several times. They identified Miguel “Lito” Brooks as a suspect in the case.
Medical personnel determined that the injured man had sustained approximately 12 gunshot wounds. The victim had to undergo emergency surgery, and was hospitalized in critical condition. One witness reportedly told police that “Lito” had approached them and without provocation, started shooting at the victim, fleeing the scene immediately after. However, that witness reportedly soon ceased cooperating with police, as did the injured man.
Surveillance video footage recovered from a business in the area reportedly showed a man later identified as Brooks discharging a firearm. However, police blame his delayed arrest on several factors, including the extreme reluctance of both victim and witness to provide “substantive assistance” to police. This complicated the identification process, police say.
Both victim and suspect also appeared to have gone into hiding, proving impossible to locate “for an extended period,” according to documents submitted in court. Evidence collected by officers suggest that the exchange of gunfire during that incident might have been mutual. The evidence also points to possible criminal involvement on the part of the injured man, police say.
When Brooks was finally tracked down on December 20, he was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm during commission of a crime, and reckless endangerment.
On Monday, Brooks appeared before Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull for his advice of rights hearing. Judge VanHolten-Turnbull granted bail and ordered conditions for Brooks’s pre trial release, however those documents have not yet been made available to the public as of press time.
Arraignment for Mr. Brooks has been scheduled for January 10, 2025.
British Caribbean News