A Superior Court judge has authorized health care providers to medicate an inmate being held in custody, pending trial. The court’s actions follow a motion filed by the Justice Department on behalf of officials at the Bureau of Corrections.
The May 8 order for treatment of defendant Mohammed H. Salem came after lawyers from Justice cited concerns expressed by a staff psychiatrist. Superior Court Judge Denise Francois granted an Amended Motion for Involuntary Treatment With Medication and directed the Clerk of the Court to place the matter under seal.
Salem is being held at the John Bell Correctional Facility on St. Croix. Court administrators were directed to provide copies of the court order to Corrections Bureau Director Wynnie Testamark and other Corrections officials.
The judge’s order authorizes psychiatrist Evadne Sang and other medical providers at Corrections to provide “involuntary treatment with medication” to the defendant. In their filing, Justice officials cited a report stating that, “the Defendant has consistently refused to take the prescribed medication, which is necessary for the stabilization of his condition.”
Salem is accused of the March 5, 2024, stabbing death of Hakim Salem, 69, at the victim’s home near Hull Bay; he was arrested at the end of a standoff with police after he allegedly fled the scene. The filing of criminal charges was postponed after defendant Salem, a relative of the victim, claimed he did not remember what happened. The court ordered him to be sent off island for a mental health evaluation.
The defendant returned to court once upon his return; after reviewing the evaluation, Magistrate Simone Van Holten-Turnbull declared the defendant fit to stand trial.
Jury selection is scheduled for July 28. Court records suggest the trial day may be delayed; a hearing is scheduled to be held by way of teleconference on May 28.
A final pretrial hearing is expected to take place July 7.
