The St. Croix utility worker accused of committing an execution-style murder on St. Thomas is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment in early 2024. Quasheem Christian, 23, made an initial appearance in Superior Court Friday before Superior Court Magistrate Paula Norkadis.
Christian was arrested on a warrant by members of the Virgin Islands Police Department Major Crimes Unit on Dec. 6. At the time of his arrest, the defendant was on the job in the Estate Mountain area for the Water and Power Authority.
Norkadis upheld charges of first- and second-degree murder and related weapons charges. He is being held on one million dollars bail, pending trial.
The body of Chandler Heath, 31, was found in the cab of a tow truck that ran into an embankment in the area of Bolongo Bay. Emergency medical workers responding to the scene on Jan. 29 pronounced Heath dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds.
Details of a months-long investigation are found in a Nov. 21 affidavit detectives filed with the court to obtain the warrant. The affidavit contains witness statements, reference to a surveillance video of the crime scene, and snippets of an alleged conversation between the accused and another person from a social media platform. In that conversation, detectives say the accused discussed Heath’s fatal shooting. At least one witness has been relocated for safety reasons since the investigation started, court records say.
The defendant’s next scheduled appearance is for arraignment on Jan. 5 in the Superior Court Magistrate Division on St. Thomas.
