The killer of a 19-year-old man on St. Thomas is still at large, police said Monday.
Emergency responders found Emerson Nicolas shot in the head around 4 a.m. Friday. He died a short time later at Roy Lester Schneider Hospital, said Chief Detective Lt. Shelly Ann Cannonier.
Nicolas had been shot in the head in a building near Palm Court Harbor View, said Cannonier. She declined to say which building, however, so as to not compromise the investigation. There had been several shots fired and police were conducting ballistics testing to better understand what happened, Cannonier said.
Nicolas had been arrested in March for drug and weapons offenses in the Raphune Hill area, according to the V.I. Police Department. Officers stopped a car Nicolas was in just after 1 a.m. on March 11 for overly tinted windows and an expired registration sticker. Police found bags of marijuana, bullets, and a pellet gun, according to the VIPD. Nicolas and 18-year-old Jamari Gumbs were arrested for possession of ammunition, possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, and operating a vehicle without a license.
Nicolas’ death is the seventh homicide on St. Thomas in 2022, according to the Source Homicide List, the first since July 3. The territory as a whole has had 27 homicides.
