CRUZ BAY — Three persons were wounded and one man was arrested after a late-night fight broke out near St. John Festival Village between groups of youths from St. Thomas and St. John on Tuesday morning, June 30.
Jahmeel Frett, 18, of Estate Adrian, St. John, was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer who tried to keep him from joining the fracas.
Fahie was arrested after he attempted to become involved in a large fight and was asked to leave the area several times, according to the VIPD report. While being escorted from the area Fahie assaulted an officer, the VIPD reported. Bail for Fahie was set at $1,000.
V.I. Police Department spokesperson Kevin Jackson gave no details of how the June 30 fight began, but the 1:51 a.m. incident was part of a bumpy start to a week of revelry at the St. John July 4 Festival which included two apparently related stabbings in connection with the attempted theft of a gold chain.
One stabbing victim told authorities he believed he was wounded around the time the attempted chain snatching occurred.
“The victim stated that he had been attending the carnival events and was leaving the area when a fight occurred and he felt a sharp pain to his abdomen,” Jackson said. “The victim also received wounds to the leg and arm and was transported to Myrah Keating Clinic, where he was treated and later transported to Schneider Regional Medical Center.”
Three Treated for Wounds
Two people were treated for stab wounds at the Myrah Keating Smith Clinic, including the one later transported to the Schneider Regional Medical Center for further medical care. A third man told hospital staff he was stabbed while involved in an altercation on St. John when he was treated at SRMC the next morning.
At 2:45 a.m., while in the area of the ferry dock in Cruz Bay, St. John, a second victim said he was stabbed twice during an altercation surrounding the chain of his relative being taken, according to the VIPD report.
During the altercation, friends of both parties joined in and as a result the victim was stabbed twice and was transported to Myrah Keating Clinic, where he was treated and later transported to Schneider Regional Medical Center, the VIPD reported.
Intervener Charged
Jahmeel Fahie, 18, of Estate Adrian, St. John, was charged with aggravated assault, a misdemeanor. The police spokesman said Fahie attempted to jump into the fight, but was prevented by officers. He was arrested after allegedly assaulting one of the officers, Jackson said.
Fahie was held on $5,000 bail. Festival officials ordered the village shut down before its scheduled 3 a.m. closing as a result of the fight.
Two nights later the fete was interrupted again when a brief storm caused a support for the festival stage awning to collapse and the canvas tore, dumping rainwater on the stage below.
The band was cancelled as a result and the musical lineup was shifted to the next night, with Ah We and Cool Sessions, the scheduled acts, being joined by the Violators band, according to St. John Festival and Cultural Organization Chairwoman Leona Smith.
