A St. Croix man will spend five years in prison after pleading guilty to discharging or aiming a firearm and third-degree assault.
Ishmael Jean Christian Jr. was sentenced in Virgin Islands Superior Court Wednesday to five years incarceration with credit for 214 days already spent behind bars for his role in a December 2023 shooting that left two people with life-threatening injuries.
Detectives with the V.I. Police Department announced last year that Christian and another alleged shooter, Daniel Manuel Ramos Jr., were arrested in March 2024 after detectives obtained video footage depicting two men opening fire near the Christian “Shan” Hendricks Vegetable Market during that year’s Downtown Shut Down event. Christian initially faced a slew of charges, including first-degree murder, first-degree assault with intent to commit murder, and multiple firearms and ammunition-related charges.
Separately, Christian was arrested in May 2022 for firing a gun into the air outside of a house where several adults and nine minors were present. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to two years’ incarceration — to be served concurrently with his other sentence.
In announcing the sentences, Superior Court Judge Ernest Morris Jr. said he was troubled that both of Christian’s offenses involved discharging guns and said it was the court’s responsibility to let the defendant — as well as the community — know that the illegal use of firearms would lead to time in prison.
