Officer Francis Williams Wanted To Marry Officer Lesha Lammy Despite Turbulent Relationship; She Turned Him Down, Court Documents Allege

ST. CROIX — Details presaging the homicide deaths of police officers Lesha Lammy and Kai Javois, as made available in court documents in the V.I.P.D.’s probable cause case against police officer Francis Williams, sheds light on how the V.I.P.D. was able to secure a $50,000 bond and arraignment on a stalking charge against Mr. Williams, who is now on leave.

Ms. Lammy and Mr. Javois were found dead at a beach in Hams Bluff, Frederiksted on Thursday afternoon, both shot multiple times. The V.I.P.D. had immediately issued an all-points bulletin for Mr. Williams, and the reasons why unfolded in court on Friday as the V.I.P.D. attempted to build its stalking case against Mr. Williams.

A statement given by Detective Frankie Ortiz at Friday’s court hearing, unearthed a complicated love relationship between Ms. Lammy and Mr. Francis. They were not identified by their names in Mr. Ortiz’s statement. Rather, he referred to the slain officers as victim 1 and victim 2; the first being female, Ms. Lammy, and number 2 being Mr. Javois.

Mr. Ortiz had spoken to Ms. Lammy’s mother, Dolores Silas, and another officer after the bodies were discovered, letting loose a myriad of information that sheds light on Ms. Lammy and Mr. Williams’ turbulent relationship.

A police officer is seen in the distance investigating the crime scene at a beach in Hams Bluff, Frederiksted, where two police officers were shot to death

Mrs. Silas spoke to Mr. Ortiz about an incident that occurred just two weeks before her daughter’s death, where Mr. Williams stole the keys of Ms. Lammy’s vehicle.

“Mrs. Silas got in her vehicle and traveled to where (Victim No. 1) was located, when suddenly Police Officer Francis Williams came driving from the Sandy Point area. Mrs. Silas said she told him to return the keys back to (Victim No. 1), which he did. Mrs. Silas stated that after that incident, (Victim No. 1) told her that the relationship between Police Officer Francis Williams and (Victim No. 1) was over,” Mr. Ortiz wrote.

But just two days later, Mr. Williams was back to Ms. Lammy’s house, this time asking for her hand in marriage. She turned him down, according to Mr. Ortiz.

Dancing at a nightclub 

Mr. Ortiz further revealed through his sworn statement that he was given additional information from Officer Sharon Santiago, that Mr. Ortiz hoped would help secure the arraignment of Mr. Williams for stalking.

On July 29, Ms. Lammy and Mr. Javois were dancing together at Chris Hideaway, a popular nightclub and sports bar in Christiansted. Not liking the scene, Mr. Williams cut between the two officers and attempted to separate them. Ms. Santigo told Mr. Ortiz that she grabbed Ms. Lammy to go have a drink. The two then went outside, where Ms. Lammy told Ms. Santiago that she had ended her relationship with Mr. Williams two weeks ago, but that Mr. Williams kept incessantly messaging her. She then blocked Mr. Williams phone number, but Mr. Williams used a workaround to contact her: he blocked his number from showing up on caller ID, according to Ms. Santiago.

“Santiago stated that while outside, she observed Police Officer F. Williams standing in front of (Victim No. 1) with his two hands on either side of the chair, preventing Victim No. 1 from leaving the chair. When (Victim No. 1) attempted to get up from the chair, Police Officer F. Williams shook his hand and placed it to her chest, pushing Victim No. 1 back into the chair,” Mr. Ortiz wrote.

Escalating situation 

A day before the bodies of Ms. Lammy and Mr. Javois were discovered at the Hams Bluff beach, Ms. Lammy told Ms. Santiago, Melissa Gilbert (another police officer) and her mother Mrs. Silas about an incident between Mr. Williams and Mr. Javois.

Mr. Williams was riding with another police officer, Karishma Smith, when Mr. Williams drove the police cruiser off regular duty to the  home of Ms. Lammy in Frederiksted, and proceeded to block Ms. Lammy and Mr. Javois from leaving, according to Ms. Smith. She said that Mr. Javois was able to maneuver his vehicle around the police cruiser and went straightaway to file a police report, which was caught on surveillance camera at the V.I.P.D.’s Rainbow Complex at about 12:10 p.m., according to Mr. Ortiz.

Entrance leading to Hams Bluff — near the crush in Frederiskted — where the double homicide of police officers occurred last Wednesday night.

Mr. Williams, according to Mr. Ortiz, became furious, hastily turning the police vehicle around and headed back to the police station in the Rainbow Complex. But he then stopped at the Hannah’s Rest stop lights before arriving at the Rainbow Complex.

“Officer K. Smith indicated that, while at the Hannah’s Rest traffic light, Officer F. Williams saw (Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2) in the parking lot of the police station and turned around and left the area,” Mr. Ortiz wrote.

Mr. Ortiz said although Ms. Lammy spoke to Officer Mario Christian about the incident, she failed to file a formal complaint.

Ms. Lammy, 30, joined the police force on December 13, 2010 as a police recruit, and was promoted to the V.I.P.D. on June 26, 2013. Ms. Lammy, who was assigned to the Wilber Francis B Command on October 4, 2015, leaves behind three young children, according information provided by Government House.

Mr. Javois, 28, joined the force as a police recruit on May 11, 2015. He was promoted to the V.I.P.D. on December 14, 2015, and was stationed at the Ancilmo Marshall C Command from June 26, 2016.

The Consortium spoke with V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte on Tuesday seeking additional information, but he said there were no updates at the time, because he had not been briefed on any new information by detectives. Mr. Dratte said he would followup with this publication, but at time of writing, The Consortium hadn’t received any messages in regards to this incident from Mr. Dratte.

Feature Image: From left to right: Slain police officers Kai Javois and Lesha Lammy. To the far right, Officer Francis Williams.