St. Thomas Man Pleads Guilty To Murder Of Innocent Bystander; Bail Set At $1 Million

ST. THOMAS — A 24-year-old St. Thomas man has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting an innocent bystander outside a nightclub in October 2015.

Jibri K. Roberts, above, of Bonne Esperance pleaded guilty to the Oct. 24, 2015 murder of Rajkumarie Hendrickson, who was shot and killed outside the Jala Jala nightclub on Kronprindsens Gade. Two men – Kareem Mathias and Chad Fredericks – were also injured in the onslaught.

Mr. Roberts was scheduled to stand trial on 16 charges, including first-degree murder, but rather than face a jury, he accepted the terms of a closed plea agreement, which was negotiated by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Huston and defense attorney, Darren John-Baptiste.

Mr. Roberts appeared in court on Monday for a change of plea hearing and stood before V.I. Superior Court Judge Michael Dunston to formally admit to the crime. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Roberts entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder and the remaining counts against him were dismissed. The plea offer also recommended that Mr. Roberts be sentenced to a 20-year prison term. A second-degree murder conviction carries a penalty of not less than five years.

Judge Dunston accepted the plea deal; however, he has scheduled Mr. Roberts’ sentencing to September 19 at 11:00 a.m. as he awaits a pre-sentence report.

Mr. Roberts was arrested Dec. 15, 2015 on a warrant signed by V.I. Superior Court Judge Kathleen Mackay. His bail was set at $1 million.

According to the affidavit of police detective, Dwight Griffith, Ms. Hendrickson was standing outside the nightclub talking with Mr. Mathis and Mr. Fredericks when a silver jeep drove up to the area and stopped at a nearby stoplight.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that a man pointed a black handgun in the direction of Ms. Hendrickson, Mr. Mathis and Mr. Fredericks and began shooting at them. Mr. Mathis, who sustained a gun injury to his right ankle, sought refuge behind a wall, while Mr. Fredericks ran towards the direction of the Department of Labor, according to Mr. Griffith.

When emergency medical technicians arrived on the scene, they found Ms. Hendrickson lying on the ground. She was unresponsive. Mr. Mathis and Mr. Fredericks were taken to Schneider Hospital to receive treatment for their wounds. An autopsy conducted on Nov. 7, 2015 revealed that Ms. Hendrickson died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds she received. During the course of the investigation, Mr. Mathis and Mr. Fredericks were able to positively identify Roberts as the shooter, Mr. Griffith wrote.