Nine months after a police chase and shootout which ended in the death of 18-year-old burglary suspect Michael Freeman, 24-year-old suspect Obrian Pacquette is still awaiting his trial.
An immigration hold has been placed on Pacquette, a Dominica native who was arrested at the culmination of the January police chase along with two St. Thomas minors, according to Justice Department Acting Chief of the Criminal Division Doug Dick.
Pacquette, who has since been released from jail, faces charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, grand larceny, possession of stolen property, burglary in the third degree and possession of ammunition, explained Dick.
Pacquette’s trial date has not been set, and two suspects involved in the chase are still at large.
The January chase began when V.I. Police Department officers responded to a report of a suspicious white SUV in Fish Bay, where several homes had recently been burglarized. The vehicle was pulled over on Centerline Road near Centerline Concrete, when shots were fired at police officers from within the white SUV. Police returned fire, and it was during this exchange of gunfire that Freeman was killed.
Dick did not have information regarding whether ballistics tests on the bullet that killed Freeman were completed.