Two St. Croix men were under arrest Tuesday for separate alleged gun crimes. One, police said, faked being the victim of a robbery after accidentally shooting himself while attempting to assault someone else. Serving a warrant, police broke down the door of another man — who was on probation after two separate June firearms convictions — to find yet another handgun, according to court records.
Johnny Taylor, 42, arrived at Juan F. Luis Hospital May 12 with a gunshot wound. He told detectives he had been shot and robbed by an unknown assailant, police said Tuesday.
Investigators found instead evidence that Taylor had attempted to assault someone else and accidentally shot himself, police said.
Taylor was charged Tuesday with assault with a deadly weapon, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and related crimes.
In 2023, Taylor was accused of terrorizing an ex-girlfriend by hiding in her car. He allegedly sprang out with a handgun when she got in the car and demanded she take him to Frederiksted Beach. She was eventually able to dissuade him, according to court records.
In February 2024, Taylor agreed to plead guilty to one count of illegal firearm possession and kidnapping and other charges were dropped. In 2022, Taylor was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm. He pleaded guilty and was given three months’ probation.
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, police raided the Croixville apartment of Omani Abraham, 33, to serve a yet-unexplained warrant. When Abraham and a girlfriend inside did not respond to police, they breached the apartment door, according to court records. In a closet, police allegedly found a handgun with an obliterated serial number, ammunition, and cannabis.
Abraham was charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition.
In two separate plea agreements June 10, Abraham admitted to possession of handguns in two separate arrests — one in May 2025 and one in June of that year. Assault, armed robbery, possession of ammunition, and drunken driving charges were dropped. In both cases, he was sentenced to 10 years suspended prison sentences and two years probation.
In the June 2025 incident, Abraham and an accomplice allegedly robbed a WAPA worker at gunpoint at the Richmond Power Plant. The alleged accomplice had been working at the plant as a contractor.
Police issued a wanted poster for Abraham in September 2023 after he allegedly destroyed private property. The disposition of that case was not immediately available.
