The V.I. Justice Department this month filed motions to dismiss dozens of felony criminal cases, several of which involved serious alleged offenses, including attempted murder, rape, and child pornography. Prosecutors regularly cited difficulty bringing witnesses to testify. Other dismissals were left unexplained by documents filed in V.I. Superior Court.
The dismissed cases included those against a St. Thomas woman who reportedly admitted to sexually abusing a minor relative, two bartenders who were arrested last summer and charged with raping a hotel guest, and a man charged earlier this year with computer pornography, obscene internet contact with a minor, second-degree unlawful sexual contact and possession of depictions of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. At least two attempted murder cases were dismissed this month when victims declined to cooperate with law enforcement or pursue charges.
In a statement provided to the Source, a Justice Department spokesperson noted that cases are typically dismissed without prejudice, “which means that if the victims or witnesses decide to cooperate in the future, or new evidence comes to light, the matters could be recharged.”
But not always. Attempted murder, assault and mayhem charges against Mario Magras and Reynaldo Philbert Jr. — who were arrested in the wake of a 2019 shooting at David Hamilton Jackson Terrace, which put four people in the hospital — were dismissed with prejudice earlier this month.
“Despite best efforts, the People are unable to locate an indispensable witness to the People’s case-in-chief,” prosecutors wrote in an Aug. 6 motion. “Therefore, we are unable to meet our burden of proof.”
Overlapping federal charges or plea agreements can also prompt a dismissal. In one instance, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful sexual contact, and a litany of assault and other charges against Rhasanie Hendrickson as part of a global plea agreement. Hendrickson agreed to plead guilty to damaging or tampering with a vehicle — a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine or up to one year in prison in exchange for having all other pending charges against him dismissed. Prosecutors recommended no term of incarceration or probation.
A witness issue was central to the Justice Department’s decision to recommend dismissing murder charges against Anthony Schneider and Joshawn Ayala in May, who were arrested for the 2022 killings of Stacie Schjang and Arnold Jarvis. The move prompted an outcry from Virgin Islanders and prompted V.I. Attorney General Gordon Rhea to issue a statement explaining the decision.
“At this time, the government’s case relies primarily on a single witness linking the defendants to the crimes,” he stated. “That witness gave a statement to the police, but then last month submitted a signed affidavit, sworn under oath, recanting his statement to the police. In a criminal case, the prosecution must prove the defendant’s guilt ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ It is not enough to show that a defendant might, could, or even probably, have committed a crime.”
He added that if the case had proceeded to trial and prosecutors failed to secure a conviction, the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause would prevent the case from being retried even if new evidence came to light.
According to documents filed in that case, law enforcement had another witness in the case for at least a week following Schjang’s death: Jarvis, who reportedly identified the shooters as “Ayala them” and said he knew them from an ongoing feud between residents of the David Hamilton Jackson and John F. Kennedy housing communities. Eight days later, he was dead.
According to the Virgin Islands Code, the V.I. Justice Department is supposed to house a “Witness Protection Board that consists of the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands, the Commissioner of Police, and the Administrator of the Victim/Witness Advocate Program” Among other things, the board is empowered to fund “any action the Board determines to be necessary to protect the individual from bodily injury or to assure the individuals health, safety, and welfare for as long as, in the judgment of the Board, the danger exists.”
According to the law, the territory’s attorney general is also required to submit an annual report to the Legislature detailing the type of assistance the program provided, with names, locations, and identifying markers redacted.
The Source asked for those reports — as well as a schedule of the board’s meetings — and requested them again under the territory’s public records laws in June. A V.I. Police Department spokesperson did not respond to multiple emails in May. On Tuesday, Justice Department spokesperson Sandra Goomansingh said she is waiting for an update on the Source’s records request and had no other comment at this time.
St. Croix Source
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