A V.I. Superior Court judge sentenced Ryan Branch, 21, to 30 years in prison Wednesday for his role in the 2023 killing of Milton Gordon, an unhoused veteran who many in Christiansted knew as “Bobo.”
Branch was one of two men arrested after police said they lured Gordon with promises of a handout before gunning him down on Company Street in Christiansted. Weeks later, Branch was airlifted off-island after he and Elijah Spencer, then 21, were involved in a car accident. Spencer was arrested and charged with Gordon’s murder in May 2023, and Branch was formally charged after his return to the territory in February 2024.
In January, Branch pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, which carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison. The 30-year sentence handed down by Judge Venetia Harvey Velazquez Wednesday was in line with prosecutors’ recommendation. Branch’s attorney, Dwayne Henry, told the Source that he sympathized with Gordon and that he hoped Branch, who could be eligible for parole in 15 years, will have a chance at rehabilitation.
“It’s just a really bad tragedy when you have young people like this doing things like this,” he said.
The case against Spencer has not yet gone to trial, and since being released to a third-party custodian in 2023, he has been charged with additional crimes, including attempted murder and possessing unlicensed guns and ammunition. The former charge came after Spencer allegedly fired at a car following an argument outside the Front Line nightclub in April. In June, he and his father, Tony Elizee, were arrested and detectives recovered loaded firearms in a search of their residence. Both were placed in the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility after being unable to make bail.
In November, Judge Ernest Morris Jr. granted a request from Spencer’s attorney, Ann Cecile O’Neill, for a psychiatric evaluation. The evaluation found that Spencer was unfit to stand trial, and Morris ordered the V.I. Health Department’s Division of Behavioral Health, Alcoholism and Drug Dependency to place Spencer in a suitable inpatient treatment facility. Assistant Attorney General Robert Pickett told the court last week that he was in line to be transferred to the Larkin Behavioral Health facility in Florida, according to court documents.
