KINGSHILL — A St. Thomas man who shot his moving company co-worker dead in the break room in a fit of rage in 2019 was convicted of murder, authorities said.
After a three-day trial, a Superior Court jury on St. Thomas found Russell Moolenaar, 39, guilty of first-degree murder and related charges on Thursday, Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George said.
Moolenaar was convicted for the March 2019 shooting death of 23-year-old Bariki George. The lone gunman now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for his crime.
Moolenaar was charged with first-degree murder, unauthorized possession of a
firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, and unauthorized possession of
firearm ammunition.
At the trial, the Virgin Islands Department of Justice prosecution team proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that on March 20, 2019, Moolenaar shot and killed his co-worker Bariki George at 9153 Kronprindsens Gade in Estate Thomas.
According to a sworn affidavit, the homicide occurred at approximately 8:00 am, at Viking Corporation, a shipping and moving company on St. Thomas.
On that morning, police were called by someone from the company who reported that a male employee had been shot in the break room of the business.
At the scene, police found George, who had sustained several gunshot wounds on his body.
Emergency medical technicians were present on the scene and found no vital signs.
After witness statements during the investigation, Moolenaar who was also an employee of the company was apprehended by police and placed under arrest.
Virgin Islands Department of Justice (VIDOJ) Assistant Attorneys General Kimberly Riley and John Barraco represented the People of the Virgin Islands.
They were assisted by the V.I. Police Department (VIPD) including Sergeant Mario Stout, Officer Ecedro Lindquist and Detective Vernon Carr.
Attorney General George commended the assistant attorneys general who prosecuted the case and the VIPD detectives for a job well done.