CRUZ BAY — A Dominican Republic native has been picked up on a bench warrant after he allegedly stole items from a double murder scene, authorities said. Police have also released the names of two victims shot at a nightclub last month.
Kenedy Francisco Estevez-Pinales, 26 of Enighed, St. John, was arrested at 10:50 a.m. Saturday and charged with possession of stolen property, destruction of evidence and grand larceny, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Pinales was observed on surveillance video removing items from the scene of a shooting at the Exclusive Bar and Nightclub in Contant on December 22, 2019, previously attributed by police to another, incorrect site, according to the VIPD.
Bail for Pinales was set at $35,000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections (BOC) pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
Police have also identified the two men who died as a result of the shooting: they are: 27-year-old Luis Castillo Agramonte and 45-year-old Ivan de Aza.
“Investigation has revealed that de Aza was the suspect who shot three people at the establishment,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said. “De Aza was subsequently shot and killed.”
But a reader of the Virgin Islands Free Press, Franshesca Baez, disagreed with most of what happened to Estevez-Pinales.
“This information is completely wrong, he was let out on Tuesday, with a bail of $10,000, of which 10 percent was payed off,” Baez claimed. “He was let out so that the detective can verify that he did NOT stole any properties, instead he gave it in to the family and was not involved in the shooting in any way more than being the victim who was also shot! We will be going to court for this report!”
This case is currently under active investigation, according to the VIPD.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at (340) 774-2211, extension 5569, or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1 (800) 222-8477.