An employee of the V.I. Housing Authority is charged with assault with a deadly weapon after a fight outside the Lucinda Millin Home on St. Thomas left a man with several lacerations from a machete that required medical care, the V.I. Police Department reported.
According to a probable cause fact sheet, the incident began July 2 around 3:30 p.m. when the victim pulled up to the seniors’ home in his car and got into a fight with a resident he said owed him $40. Lameak Wilkins, 44, told police he was leaving the building with a machete to put in his vehicle when he saw the altercation and told the men to stop fighting. Instead, the victim “came up in his face” and refused to back down, so he pushed him and a fight ensued, the report stated.
As the men fought, Wilkins told police the victim was pulling on his locs and his leg, causing him to slip to his knees, so he struck him with the machete as the hand holding the tool was the only one he had free.
“Wilkins concluded by stating that he threw the machete aside, and someone separated them, at which time he went inside the office to avoid any further altercations,” according to the probable cause fact sheet. When police arrived, they reportedly found him inside, “lying on the floor in the fetus position with his eyes closed.”
Though police told the victim, who was sitting in his vehicle and bleeding from his wounds, to wait for paramedics to arrive, he left and drove himself to the hospital where he reportedly received eight staples to close a laceration to the right side of his head, another seven stitches to close a cut to the middle of his back, and five more for a wound on the right side of his cheek. Police noted that he was also treated for gastritis and alcohol intoxication.
Wilkins, who police said has no prior criminal record and has been cooperating with the investigation, was advised that he would be placed under arrest for third-degree assault, was released to get his affairs in order and instructed to turn himself in on July 13, which he did. He sustained several cuts to both knees and complained of chest pain and sought medical treatment on July 9 at Schneider Regional Medical Center, police reported.
Wilkins was released Wednesday on a $25,000 unsecured bond. His arraignment is scheduled for July 31 in Magistrate Court on St. Thomas.
The VIPD encourages anyone with information related to this incident or any other crimes to contact 911, the Office of the Police Chief, or the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-774-2211. Anonymous tips may also be submitted by calling 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
