Aug. 9, 2002 – An investigation was under way Friday into the shooting death of a St. Thomas man who was charged last March with threatening to kill a child witness in the November shooting death of another child, Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School student Alphonso Blyden III.
The bullet-ridden body of Leroy "Tyrene" Williams, 22, of St. Joseph and Rosendahl was found outside Building 21 of the Tutu Hi-Rise complex Thursday night.
Williams was shot multiple times in the chest and was found lying face down on the ground by police on patrol, according to a release from the office of Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty. The shooting occurred at about 9:30 p.m., police said.
Sgt. Annette Raimer, police spokeswoman, said Williams had been arrested on March 6 on charges of threatening a witness in a homicide case on Feb. 27. According to police, he was on conditional release under a $50,000 bond ordered by Judge Ishmael Meyers.
Police arrested Williams in March and charged him with threatening to kill a child who was a witness in the Nov. 3 shooting death of the 12-year-old Alphonso. Authorities said the child was expected to testify in court about what had happened. Territorial Court Judge Brenda Hollar found probable cause to uphold the charge.
The boy was killed at a residence in St. Joseph and Rosendahl, where he had gone to visit a friend. Police charged Williams' girlfriend, Karema Thompson, with involuntary manslaughter in the boy's death, saying she accidentally shot him.
According to a police detective's affidavit in March, the child witness, who was not identified, was speaking on the telephone with Alphonso when Alphonso told the witness Thompson was playing with "a tool." The witness then heard the sound of a gunshot and Thompson's voice calling the boy's name and pleading for him to "hold on." The detective also said he later overheard Thompson telling the witness's mother to tell her child not to tell police about what the child had heard over the telephone.
The detective's affidavit further states that the witness told detectives that on Feb. 27, Williams slowly drove a white Jeep past the witness's home in the Tutu Hi-Rise community. According to the child, Stout said, Williams gestured as if he were holding a gun, pointed at the witness and then made a motion as if he were firing the weapon.
After that, the detective wrote, the witness was afraid to stay home alone or to walk to the bus stop to go to school.
Raimer said Williams worked as a truck driver for Alvin Williams Trucking Co., owned by his father.
The homicide is the 16th on St. Thomas and the 25th in the territory so far this year. At this time a year ago, the 2001 toll stood at seven dead on St. Thomas and 15 territorywide.
Police asked that anyone with information about the case call 911, the Investigation Bureau at 774-4050, or the Major Crime Unit at 715-5546.
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