FREDERIKSTED — A Venezuelan native was escorted back to the territory by Virgin Islands Police officers on Saturday to face attempted murder charges after being extradited from Texas.
Geraldo Jose Ojeda Montiel, 34, of Caracas, was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began at about 8:18 p.m. on July 2, 2022, when officers responded to the Juan F. Luis Hospital after two male victims arrived at the Emergency Room with gunshot wounds, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Geraldo Jose Ojeda Montiel, 34, of Caracas, Venezuela
A Criminal Investigation Bureau detective’s investigation revealed that the suspect, Geraldo Ojeda Montiel and his accomplice got into an argument with the two victims at Yamasa Bar, police said.
Ojeda Montiel left the bar and returned armed with a firearm and shot one victim in the back and the other victim in the foot, according to police.
The victim who was shot in the back, fell on the ground and Geraldo Ojeda Montiel, who was operating a gray Toyota Tundra, struck him with the vehicle and ran over him, police said.
The suspects fled the scene in the Toyota Tundra, and later abandoned the vehicle in the Work and Rest area of St. Croix, according to police.
PERP WALK: Geraldo Jose Ojeda Montiel, 34, of Venezuela arrives at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix on Saturday afternoon to face attempted murder charges in Superior Court in Estate Kingshill on Monday.
Each suspect fled the territory on Geraldo Ojeda Montiel’s boat to Sint Maarten and authorities lost track of their movements, police said.
A warrant for Geraldo Ojeda Montiel’s arrest was signed on September 28, 2022, according to police.
On May 9, 2024, agents from Customs and Boarder Protection apprehended Geraldo Ojeda Montiel in Texas, police said.
He was charged with illegal entry into the United States and detained for six months, before being extradited back to the Virgin Islands on November 16, 2024, according to police.
Ojeda Montiel was read his Miranda Rights, booked and processed. He was transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the Golden Grove Prison.
The suspect is scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing at Superior Court in Estate Kingshill tomorrow morning.
