Friday Night Mayhem Leaves One Dead In Cruz Bay Revenge Shooting

CRUZ BAY — A St. John man died of multiple gunshot wounds to the throat shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday, May 29, in the center of Cruz Bay in what St. John Tradewinds sources said was a late-night revenge “hit” in retaliation for a vicious February machete attack in the same area that stunned the community.

Witnesses said as many as nine shots were fired in the attack, with as many as four bullets striking the victim in the neck or throat.

The victim of the Friday night shooting was identified by next of kin as Kenson Jolly, 25, of Pastory, according to a VIPD release. Jolly had been placed on $75,000 bail at his initial court appearance after the February 18 machete attack. Jolly had been ordered to appear at an arraignment on March 5 in Superior Court, but there was no information available on the disposition of the case.

At the time of the February machete attack, Jolly told police he had turned the tables on someone who had attacked him. Jolly was held in the St. Thomas Criminal Justice Complex following the February machete assault.

“On Friday, May 29, at approximately 11:12 p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of Kongens Gade in downtown Cruz Bay… following up on a report of a disturbance,” according to a Saturday, May 30, VIPD press release. “Arriving to the location, officers observed a black male slumped-over in a patio chair, unresponsive to their verbal inquiries.”

“On further inspection, the black male was observed to have several gunshot wounds to his body and was believed to have succumbed to those wounds,” the official statement continued.

Emergency Response Delays
There were numerous unofficial reports of delays in VIPD and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response to the Cruz Bay crime scene because responders were at the scene of a simultaneous motor vehicle accident with injuries on Centerline Road near the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center.

The body of the Friday night shooting victim reportedly was covered with a sheet at the downtown crime scene for more than one half hour while St. John Rescue first responders waited for V.I. government authorities to reach the scene to pronounce the gunshot victim dead. Several persons involved said the government coroner was not available to respond to the Friday night crime scene.

The victim of the Wednesday night assault in February was identified by police at the time as Rupert Walters. Walters was transported by ambulance boat immediately after the machete assault for emergency surgery at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas. Hospital officials said Walters was treated for cuts and a head injury.

Charges brought against Jolly after that incident included three counts of first degree assault, two counts of third degree assault, mayhem and use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a violent crime.

The bloody mid-evening assault in the center of Cruz Bay on Wednesday, February 18, left high-season pedestrian and vehicular traffic being routed through the V.I. Port Authority facility at Cruz Bay Creek while authorities examined a bloody street front crime scene.

The pulse-pounding nightly music of Cap’s Place was interrupted when the attack, which began in front of Nature’s Nook produce stand in a well-lit section of the waterfront heavily-traversed by visitors walking to Mongoose Junction or traveling to and from the North Shore Road, Route 20, through the V.I. National Park, continued down the busy street toward the U.S. Post Office until it reached the popular street-front bar.

“There was blood all over the place,” said one observer. “A pick-up truck was covered in blood and the guy was chased down the street towards Cap’s Place.”

“They closed the road and directed traffic through the Port Authority’s bulkhead parking lot while the police investigated before the street was washed down,” the eyewitness added.

After his February arrest, Jolly complained to police that he and the victim had had an altercation earlier in the evening, according to court documents. The defendant said he walked away after being struck in the head by a man he said had antagonized him on an ongoing basis.