FREDERIKSTED — A St. Croix murder suspect showed how serious he considers the first-degree murder charges against him by making an obscene gesture at a cameraman upon deplaning at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on Wednesday.
Jonathan Rivera, 30, is one of two suspects who were returned to the territory from Florida to face charges in the shooting death of 28-year-old Jah-Marley Christopher in Williams Delight on July 6.
Despite being in handcuffs, the scrawny Rivera managed to raise the middle finger of his right hand high in an indecent salute to a cameraman as he walked on the airport tarmac yesterday.
Extending the middle finger in this fashion is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially in the Western world.
Rivera and N’zinger Makeda Williams signed waivers of extradition in Florida, allowing them to be brought back to St. Croix on Wednesday afternoon.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department in Lakeland apprehended Rivera and Williams on November 3 at the VIPD’s request after securing an arrest warrant for charging Jonathan with first-degree murder and charging N’zinger with accessory after the fact, for her role in allegedly helping Rivera get away with murder, police said.
On Wednesday, Rivera made a mockery of the extradition process after being returned to the territory by force, handcuffed and in shackles, on an American Airlines flight from Miami.
The July 6 homicide occurred on “The Turf” in the Williams Delight Rivera and Christopher got into a verbal altercation, VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said.
As a result, Rivera “ran down” Christopher and shot him multiple times, causing him to die of his injuries, according to Dratte.
Rivera and Williams were each unable to post bail. Unable to post bail, they were subsequently transported and remanded to the Bureau of Corrections at the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility pending further court action.