Nov. 27, 2001 – A police investigation is under way into the disappearance of Kai "The Wizard" Oliver, a prisoner last seen on Nov. 19, when he failed to return to a federal halfway house on St. Croix after participating in a work-release program.
Meanwhile, in unrelated action, a federal fugitive turned himself into authorities on the island Tuesday morning.
Foul play is suspected in the Oliver case, police sources said Tuesday. On the day that he disappeared, they said, blood stains and bullet casings were found in the Two Williams area where police say he last was seen.
Deputy Police Chief Novelle Francis said members of the Criminal Investigation Bureau responded at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 19 "to reports of shots fired in the Two Williams / Fredericks Haab area." A pool of blood and spent ammunication casings were found. "At that same time, a call came in to police that Oliver was seen in the same area at the time of the shots-fired report," Francis said.
He said Oliver's disappearance remains categorized as a missing person report.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Linda Valerino said Monday that Oliver is wanted for escape from custody. "He was serving out the end of his sentence on weapons and drugs possession convictions and was enrolled in a work-release program," she said. She said Oliver failed to report back to the halfway house at his scheduled check-in time of 6 p.m.
Oliver, 33, is described as an African-American, 5 feet 11, 150 pounds, with brown eyes and shoulder-length dreadlocks. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Police Department asked that anyone with information as to his whereabouts call the police at 778-2211, ext. 4531 or 4533, or the FBI hotline at 777-5393.
On Tuesday morning, a federal fugitive wanted on violation of supervised release charges surrendered Tuesday morning at the U.S. Marshal's office. Valerino said Kelvin Woodson turned himself in to authorities after he was profiled on the "V.I. Most Wanted" program on WSVI-TV/Channel 8.
Woodson appeared before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Resnick and was placed on a $5,000 unsecured bond, Valerino said. "He was released to a third-party custodian, and we expect a revocation hearing will be scheduled later," she said.
