John McCarthy
By JOHN McCARTHY / V.I. Free Press News Reporter
ST. THOMAS — A dispute over a $40 debt at a senior housing community spiraled into a bloody machete attack on July 2, 2026, leaving one man heavily intoxicated and bleeding from the neck, and a Virgin Islands Housing Authority employee behind bars.
Lameak L. Wilkins, a maintenance worker at the Lucinda Millin Home, was formally arrested on Monday, July 13, 2026, after turning himself in to the Criminal Investigation Bureau. He faces multiple felony charges, including third-degree assault and using a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence.
Screeching Tires and a Strangling on the Ground
The incident unfolded at approximately 3:22 p.m. at the Lucinda Millin Home senior living complex in Estate Thomas. According to police documents, Wilkins was inside a storage room when he heard screeching tires and screaming in the parking lot.
Upon looking outside, Wilkins and other witnesses observed a resident, Julien King, aggressively confront another tenant, Sinclair Richards, who reportedly owed King $40.00. King allegedly tackled Richards to the ground and began strangling him while screaming about his money. Richards, who suffers from documented mental health issues, was pinned to the pavement.
Wilkins told detectives he was on his way to his vehicle to put away a machete he intended to use to do yard work for his grandmother when he decided to intervene to save Richards. Wilkins reportedly asked King, “Mister, could you please come off of that man?”
The Escalation and the ‘Locks’ Scuffle
According to court records, King released Richards but immediately advanced on Wilkins, getting so close that their faces were touching. When Wilkins pushed him away, King allegedly launched into a violent attack, grabbing Wilkins by his locs (hair) and attempting to wrestle the machete away by the blade.
Wilkins claimed King explicitly threatened him during the struggle, shouting that he was going to kill him. Wilkins, who was fighting King off with his left hand while holding the handle of the machete in his right, told police he “got fed up” and swung the weapon to defend himself as he was being choked and dragged to the ground.
King provided a different narrative to investigators, claiming that as he struggled with Wilkins for the weapon, another housing authority employee held him down, allowing Wilkins to chop him repeatedly. King insisted he was completely unarmed.
Medical Findings: Staples, Stitches, and Severe Intoxication
When responding VIPD Officer Jason Thomas first arrived on the scene, he found King sitting in his driver’s seat with his leg hanging out, bleeding heavily from the right side of his neck with a pool of blood on the ground. King’s speech was heavily slurred and incoherent. Ignoring orders from the officer to wait for Emergency Medical Technicians, King abruptly drove himself to the Roy Lester Schneider Regional Medical Center (SRMC).
Medical records from SRMC later revealed that King was treated for:
- A 4 cm laceration to the right side of his head, requiring 8 staples to close.
- A 3.5 cm laceration to the middle of his back, requiring 7 stitches.
- A 1 cm laceration to his right cheek, requiring 5 dissolvable stitches.
Crucially, ER patient data confirmed that besides his wounds and gastritis, King was suffering from severe alcohol intoxication during the melee.
Wilkins was also injured in the fight, sustaining deep cuts to both knees and severe chest pain, for which he sought medical treatment a week later. Police later found Wilkins inside an office at the complex lying on the floor in the fetal position with his eyes closed following the trauma of the event.
Relief to Get Affairs in Order before Jail
Due to Wilkins’ total cooperation with the Criminal Investigation Bureau and his lack of a prior criminal record, detectives extended a rare courtesy. After being informed of his impending arrest on July 10, Wilkins was allowed to remain free over the weekend to get his personal affairs in order before self-reporting to police headquarters on Monday morning.
Wilkins has been charged with:
- Third-Degree Assault (14 V.I.C. § 297(a)(2))
- Using a Dangerous Weapon During a Crime of Violence (14 V.I.C. § 2251(a)(2)(B))
Bail was set by the court at $25,000.00. Unable to post bond, Wilkins was remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending his Advice of Rights hearing. Management personnel at the housing facility were noted by detectives as being highly reluctant to cooperate or provide statements regarding the violent incident.
