CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Two murders in 15 hours have rattled normally jaded St. Thomas residents.
Akeem Dore, 35, of St. Thomas was shot and killed near Building 1 of Oswald Harris Court in St. Thomas shortly before 7:58 p.m. Tuesday, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Police issued a wanted poster for 37-year-old Akimo Smith at 9:08 a.m. today, saying that he was a “person of interest” in Dore’s death, the VIPD said on Twitter.
Police are holding a press conference that started at 10 a.m. today to discuss Monday morning’s slaying of 49-year-old Bill John-Baptiste in Estate Dorothea and the as-yet-officially-unreported news of Dore’s death last night in Charlotte Amalie East.
John-Baptiste, a disgraced former Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) officer convicted of kidnapping, was found shot to death at the side of the road near the trash dumpsters at Dorothea-Caret Bay shortly after 4:55 a.m. Tuesday, police said in a press conference held this morning
Richard Velasquez, the St. Thomas deputy chief of police, gave the press briefing to the public that was live streamed on Facebook. He said the murder was first reported by a concerned citizen who found the body of John-Baptiste and called the 911 Emergency Call Center.
Velasquez said 911 dispatchers received “multiple calls” that the shooting of Dore took place near 1st Stop Service Station and Convenience Store-Oswald Harris Court-Building 1.
“At 7:58 p.m., 911 dispatchers received multiple calls from members of the community of shots fired in the area of 1st Stop and Oswald Harris Court, Building 1,” Velasquez said. “Upon the arrival of law enforcement, Virgin Islands police officers, they found a male lying on the ground in the area of the transformer, unresponsive.”
EMTs dispatched to the crime scene “unfortunately” were not able to detect any vital signs on Dore, he said, adding that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, friends on Facebook said that Dore was well-liked in the St. Thomas community and not involved in any criminal activity. According to social media he worked as a musician.
