77 F
Cruz Bay
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesSt. Croix Logs its First Homicide of 2006

St. Croix Logs its First Homicide of 2006

Feb. 5, 2006 – A St. Croix man in his mid-50s died from multiple gunshot wounds Friday night. Winston "Bamboo" Samuel was a resident of Grove Place 40-B, according to Territorial Police Chief Novelle Francis Jr.
Francis said the victim was shot at close range. "A motive for the shooting has not been established," Francis added.
According to police reports, a citizen reported hearing several shots fired at around 8:35 p.m. Friday and responding officers found Samuel outside the residence in a pool of blood.
The St. Croix Avis quoted an unnamed source as saying that Samuel was out on bail awaiting trial at the time of the shooting. He was reportedly wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Samuel, who appeared to be ambushed, was shot in the chin, jaw, mouth and side of the head. A weapon believed to be Samuel's was found near his body, the paper reported.
Samuel's death is the first killing on St. Croix in 2006, and police have no suspects in the case. Authorities did say that a male with dreadlocks wearing a white stocking cap was seen leaving the area in a white or light-colored car.
A few minutes after the shooting a police patrol unit reported a light- colored car speeding towards the Estate Profit area with two punctured tires.
The vehicle was later found abandoned in the vicinity of Colon Street with a gun inside.
Authorities could not say whether the vehicle recovered was the getaway car.
The police investigation continued on Saturday with authorities urging anyone with information to contact police at 778-2211, 778-4950 or the emergency number 911.
To date this year, there have been four murders in the territory. The remaining three, including one Saturday night, occurred on St. Thomas.

Back Talk

Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.