The killers who went on a murderous Christmas morning shooting spree in the JFK community apartments in 2007 were sentenced this week to multiple life sentences, and an accomplice after the fact was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Last September Jeffrey Browne, who was a V.I. police officer at the time of the crime, was convicted along with his brother-in-law, Luis "Gulio" Melendez, of two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, three counts of unauthorized use of a deadly weapon during the commission of a crime of violence and unauthorized possession of ammunition.
All the charges stem from an early morning Christmas 2007 shooting spree that killed two and wounded four others. Murdered were Allen Burke, 18, of Estate Anna’s Hope; and Kennyetta McIntosh, 33, of No. 6 East Street, Christiansted.
Browne’s wife, Marcella Browne, who is Melendez’s sister, was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact for allegedly giving false information to police investigators.
Browne was arrested Dec. 30. 2007. Melendez was already in custody after being picked up Christmas Day on an unrelated attempted murder charge in connection with a shooting Nov. 23 in Estate Bethlehem.
On Monday, V.I. Superior Court Judge Darryl Donohue sentenced both Browne and Melendez to two consecutive life sentences for each of the murders; four consecutive 25-year sentences for attempted murder, 20 years for the weapons charges, five years for reckless endangerment and one year for interfering with a police officer, with the lesser sentence running concurrently. Donohue sentenced Marcella Browne to 10 years on the accessory charge, with five years suspended.
All three plan to appeal.
