ST. CROIX — A 33-year-old man who moved from North Carolina to the U.S. Virgin Islands for hurricane recovery work, was shot on Wednesday night during a robbery incident at the Castaway Bar on the East End of St. Croix, located near the Ziggy’s Gas Station in Estate Solitude.
The incident was confirmed to The Consortium Thursday morning by Virgin Islands Police Department Commissioner Delroy Richards. Additional information was provided by V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte.
The 911 emergency call center received notification of the robbery and shooting from a concerned resident at 11:39 p.m. Wednesday. The caller also stated that three masked men had fled the area in a blue Jeep Wrangler, police said.
Upon the arrival of detectives to the scene, eye witnesses said the three men entered the facility and stood at three different areas. With guns drawn, the men demanded that patrons lay on the ground. Among patrons of the bar was a man believed to be intoxicated, who was not sure what was going on. One police officer said he was told by witnesses that the intoxicated man first thought the entire situation was a prank.
To convey their intentness on the crime, the men shot multiple rounds in the air. Soon after, they shot the intoxicated man, ran to the cash register area, stole an undetermined amount of cash and fled the scene in the blue Jeep Wrangler, the officer, who was on the scene following the shooting, told The Consortium.
The victim was rushed to the hospital and at the time was said to be in critical condition, according to Police Commissioner Richards. At about 12:53 a.m. Thursday, the victim was pronounced dead, he said.
The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Derrick Cribb, according to Mr. Dratte. He was on St. Croix working with APTIM, a firm hired by the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, to perform recovery work in the territory.
Robbery of Jeep Wrangler believed to be involved in shooting
On Monday night a blue Jeep Wrangler fitting the description of the getaway vehicle used in the Wednesday night robbery and shooting, was stolen during a home invasion incident in Bellevue, Christiansted, Mr. Richards said. The commissioner said the victim told police that he was tied up by the suspects, who then stole $700 from him along with his blue Jeep Wrangler.
Mr. Richards said the V.I.P.D. would be relentless in its efforts to apprehend those involved. And he expressed revulsion with the occurrence.
“They come to this territory to help us, and you got folks whose only way of thinking is to commit these crimes,” the commissioner said. “I’ve relayed to my officers that we’ve got to be relentless, we’ve got to pursue all the leads, because if we don’t catch these guys, they are going to do it again.”
Feature Image: Castaways Bar (Ernice Gilbert, VIC)
Correction: Nov. 15, 2018
Because of a text error, the date of the incident, which is Wednesday night, was stated as being Thursday. The story has been updated.
Tags: castaways, hurricane recovery, shooting, st croix, usvi
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