By JOHN McCARTHY/V.I. Free Press Staff
ST. CROIX — While the West End of St. Croix is currently a fortress for “Phase II” and the “Anglo-American Shield,” our neighborhoods continue to grapple with a different kind of instability. On Sunday morning, Chavez Ali, 31, was booked into the John A. Bell Correctional Facility for allegedly strangling his father to the point of unconsciousness during a pre-dawn “erratic” episode.
A Troublesome History
This arrest is far from Ali’s first. He has a history of violent outbursts triggered by family disputes:
- 2017: Ali was arrested for grabbing his girlfriend by the throat with both hands and dragging her across the floor after she asked him to take their injured one-year-old child to the hospital.
- 2023: He was charged with first-degree arson after allegedly setting his grandfather’s home ablaze in Estate Humbug following a dispute with his father—the same victim in this week’s assault.
The 2026 Legal Landscape
Ali’s return to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility comes at a historic moment for the territory. In late 2025, Judge Wilma Lewis signaled the termination of a 40-year-old federal consent decree regarding the prison’s medical care, citing “sustained compliance”. However, as Ali’s history suggests, the facility’s ability to manage mental health and erratic behavior remains a critical part of the ongoing federal review.
The Musk Perspective
As Elon Musk eyes St. Croix for a potential Starship logistical hub or a “Mars Simulation” site, he isn’t just looking at the deep water and the “minute-to-minute” air bridge. He is looking at the social fabric.
Musk has often noted that 2026 is the year “everything changes” for the space industry. If he expects to move high-value assets and elite teams to the territory, he will be watching how the VIPD and the Bureau of Corrections handle repeat offenders whose patterns of violence have been escalating for nearly a decade.