CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Police have arrested a suspect in the Market Square shooting death of a Dominican Republic native, authorities said.
Luis Manuel Mota-Rivas, 30, of St. Thomas, was arrested at 2:00 p.m. Monday and charged with first degree assault, third-degree assault and use of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
“Investigation revealed that Luis Manuel Mota Rivas shot Mr. Guerrero multiple times as
Mr. Guerrero sat in his vehicle, after exiting a bar and restaurant in the downtown area,” VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said.
Mota-Rivas surrendered to detectives with the VIPD’s Major Crimes Unit without incident on Monday afternoon, according to Dratte.
No bail was set for Mota-Rivas pending an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court.
On Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 12:45 a.m., a citizen called 911 and reported that a male had been shot in the area of Market Square, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Responding police units made contact with an unresponsive male, who appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency Medical Technicians were also on the scene and attempted to
render life saving measures. The male was transported to Schneider Regional Medical Center
via ambulance, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The male was identified as Marcos Antonio Benjamin Guerrero, a native of the Dominican Republic.
“The VIPD would like to thank the community for their cooperation in this investigation,” Police Commissioner Ray A. Martinez said. “It is truly a new time for the department, as we move forward with the trust of our community more cases can be solved in a timely manner. Without you we cannot connect the dots and cases will continue to go unsolved.”
Anyone having any information about this incident please contact the Virgin Islands Police
Department at 340-774-2211, the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division at
340-642-8449 or Crime Stoppers V.I. at 1-800-222-8477.
One comment
Comments are closed.