Rupert Walters, suspected of stabbing a man who had asked him to stop harassing women walking by, is free on the streets of Cruz Bay again.
Walters, also known as Big Youth, has been accused or convicted of violent crimes at least five times since 2011, including murder charges in the 2015 shooting death of a St. John man. In 2021, he partially paralyzed a man by stabbing him in the neck. The victim had told Walters, 50, to stop harassing an old man near a Cruz Bay parking garage. Walters also faced weapons charges in 2008 for allegedly carrying a revolver near a school.
Most recently, Virgin Islands Police Department officers arrested Walters for allegedly stabbing a man in the head, hand, and abdomen near the Tap & Still in Cruz Bay. He was charged with assault with the intent to commit murder, reckless endangerment, carrying a deadly weapon, and other crimes.
Court records available online did not indicate whether prosecutors asked that Walters be held without bail, but he was freed Monday. The conditions of his release were that Walters must post 15% of his $75,000 bail, and continue to reside in Estate Pastory.
Another condition was that he remain employed at the Westin. Marriott Vacations Worldwide, which is the owner and operator of the Westin St. John Resort Villas, has since reached out to the Source to say Walters “is not, and has never been employed by Marriott Vacations Worldwide or The Westin St. John Resort Villas.” There is also a Westin on St. Thomas — The Westin St. Thomas Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef.
Walters was also prohibited from using alcohol or other drugs and must stay at least 50 feet from his alleged victim at all times. Walters was also prohibited from carrying weapons.
Walters’ next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Social media posters, including victims of Walters’ crimes and people who said they had known the 50-year-old for decades, said Walters was an ongoing and immediate threat to the community.
Walters has a long history of violence and arrests and was well known to VIPD, according to court records.
In May 2021, a man leaving Beach Bar told police he saw Walters harassing an older man. When the victim told Walters to “chill out,” Walters attacked, stabbing the man in the neck. The two-inch puncture wound hit the victim’s spinal cord, leaving him partially paralyzed.
After a manhunt, Walters was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault, use of a deadly weapon, mayhem, reckless endangerment, and other crimes. He pleaded not guilty at first but later accepted a deal. He was sentenced to three years in prison for third-degree assault in February 2023, with credit given for time served.
Walters was released in 2024 but failed to pay associated fines and fees. The government filed a civil suit against him.
In 2016, Walters was charged with first-degree murder in the May 2015 shooting death of Kenson Jolly, 25. Jolly had been a suspect in a machete-and-knife fight that February that left the streets of Cruz Bay covered in blood.
Police came to suspect Walters in the murder and eventually charged him after a firearm was found in his vehicle that allegedly matched the murder weapon. Police searched Walters’ vehicle after he’d been involved in an altercation with another driver. A Virgin Islands Superior Court judge ruled the arrest and the search illegal, and the firearm evidence was excluded, according to court records.
Incomplete court records online did not specify if Walters was convicted of a crime in the matter.
In 2012, Walters was charged with burglary, assault, and weapons charges that were eventually dismissed in 2014, according to court records.
In 2011, Walters was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, assault and battery, disturbance of the peace, and other crimes. He eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and battery in a court or church and was sentenced to six months imprisonment, with all but 10 days suspended. Court records online don’t detail the nature of the case beyond some disturbance at Castaway Bar and Grill.
In 2008, Walters was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, ammunition, and marijuana. Court records were unclear on how or why the charges were resolved. That same year, Walters was charged with criminal contempt of court.
That same year, Walters faced firearms charges for allegedly carrying an unlicensed revolver within 1,000 feet of the Julius E. Sprauve School.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comment from Marriott Vacations Worldwide, the owner and operator of the Westin St. John Resort Villas, that Rupert Walters has never been employed by the company.
