KINGSHILL — A St. Croix man who said he’d kill his ex-girlfriend and sink her lifeless body at Creque Dam was allowed to post $1,500 bail to avoid going to jail prior to his next court appearance.
Kertis Tonge Jr. was arrested on Monday and charged with contempt of court as an act of domestic violence and harassment by telephone, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Tonge is accused of violating a restraining order by leaving numerous messages on the victim’s voicemail and threatening to kill her, a sworn VIPD affidavit states.
The female victim was at the Wilbur H. Francis Command Center at 2:10 p.m. Monday and told police that she had a domestic violence-related restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Kertis Tonge Jr, dated August 9, 2022 which is valid for two years, according to the probable cause fact sheet. But Tonge ignored the protective order, leaving threatening and harassing messages on her voicemail, Superior Court records show.
The woman told police that the two were in a relationship for about three years until it ended in April 2021, but they still interacted up until July 2022, the probable cause fact sheet states. After feeling threatened by Tonge on several occasions, the victim decided to get a restraining order against him, Superior Court records show.
Despite blocking Tonge’s number, he continued to call her from other numbers, so she directed all unknown numbers to her voicemail, a sworn police affidavit says. Yet and still, Tonge continued to leave messages on her voicemail from an unknown number, but she recognized the messages as being from him, according to the probable cause fact sheet.
The victim played some of the voice messages for a VIPD officer and gave him copies of the communications, Superior Court records show. In the messages, Tonge can be heard calling his ex-girlfriend uncomplimentary names, the probable cause fact sheet states.
In one particular message, Tonge said that the woman’s lifeless body would be sunk below the still waters at Creque Dam, according to a sworn VIPD affidavit.
Shortly after leaving the police station, the victim contacted the officer again to say that she had received another set of threatening messages, Superior Court records show. The woman returned to the police station to allow officers to listen to the new messages she got between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
The victim expressed fear for her safety and her child’s, stating that she believed Tonge was capable of following through on the threats against her, according to the probable cause fact sheet.
Based on the restraining order, Tonge was prohibited from directly or indirectly subjecting the victim to any acts of domestic violence, including harassment or threats, and from having any contact with the victim, Superior Court records show. Forensics got copies of the evidence on the victim’s phone and Tonge was subsequently arrested at his residence, according to police.
In court on Wednesday, a judge ruled that Tonge would be allowed to post $1,500 cash to secure his release. Upon release, he has been ordered to stay at least 50 ft away from the victim and have no direct or indirect contact with her.
Any further violation of court orders will result in Tonge being taken into official custody by the Bureau of Corrections pending further court action, according to the judge.
[wpedon id=23995]
