KINGSHILL — Two men face attempted murder charges for their alleged roles in a shooting near a nightclub in Estate Glynn last October.
Jose A. Quinones, 21, and Randy H. Morales, 25, were each arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, third-degree assault and carrying, using a dangerous weapon, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began on October 8, 2023, when the 911 dispatcher got a report of shots fired on Midland Road between Bliss Bar & Lounge and Marvellous Auto Body, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Jose A. Quinones, 21, of St. Croix.
Responding officers met the victims who stated that someone fired shots at them from a moving
vehicle, disabling their vehicle, police said.
Members of the Criminal Investigation Bureau did a follow-up investigation which revealed that Randy Morales and Jose Quinones drove by the victims and fired shots at their vehicle, according to police.
On October 18, 2023, the 911 Emergency Call Center received reports that Jose Quinones
was seen operating a vehicle in Estate Profit, police said.
A Special Operations Bureau unit traveled to the scene and attempted to contact the occupants of the vehicle, but they drove off at a high rate of speed, according to police.
VIPD mug shot of Randy H. Morales, 25, of St. Croix.
in an attempt to flee from police, the occupants then began to discharge shots at the officers
when they arrived in the Barren Spot residential area and exited the vehicle, police said.
Investigation later revealed that Jose A. Quinones was one of the occupants that discharged shots at the police officers on October 18, 2023, VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
Based on the results of the two investigations, in January of 2024 two arrest warrants were granted
for Jose A. Quinones, to include a search warrant for his residence and one arrest warrant
was granted for Randy H. Morales, according to Chichester.
Members of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Special Operations Bureau, K9 Unit, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency executed Operation “Top Shottas” where a search warrant was executed on Jose A. Quinones’ residence, police said.
Bliss Bar & Lounge in Estate Glynn on St. Croix.
During this operation, “numerous illegal firearms, ammunition, and drugs were seized at his residence,” according to police.
Quinones was detained and subsequently arrested based on the warrants and the firearms recovered, police said. Morales was arrested based on the warrant issued for his arrest.
Both parties, Quinones and Morales, were transported to the Wilbur H. Francis Command Police
Station.
They were each advised of their Miranda Rights, booked and processed.
Bail for Quinones was set at $1,050,000.00. Bail for Morales was set at $500,000.00.
Unable to post bail, they were each remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the Golden Grove prison.
Quinones and Morales are scheduled for advice-of-rights hearings in Superior Court tomorrow.