A murder suspect is back in custody on St. Thomas after law enforcement agencies across multiple jurisdictions worked together to apprehend him in the British Virgin Islands. Demare A. Encarnacion, 32, was arrested in Tortola and returned to the U.S. Virgin Islands by British Virgin Islands Immigration officers, the V.I. Justice Department announced.
Encarnacion is accused of taking part in the fatal shooting of Cecil Scatliffe on the morning of Oct. 13, 2024, in the Kronprindsens Gade area. Authorities charged him on Oct. 17, 2024, with first-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, and possession of an unlicensed firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, according to the report.
The U.S. Marshals Service’s Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force developed information in December 2024 indicating Encarnacion was in Tortola. The U.S. Marshals Service in the District of the Virgin Islands, in collaboration with the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, and the British Virgin Islands Department of Immigration, facilitated his capture, the report stated.
Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of the Virgin Islands, Kwesi Howard emphasized the importance of law enforcement partnerships in locating fugitives. “As the enforcement arm of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Marshals’ commitment to partnerships with federal, local, and international law enforcement agencies to track down violent fugitives is unwavering,” Howard said. “Although we cannot arrest our way out of problems, we can help bring closure to families who are affected by crimes of violence.”
