CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A St. Thomas man was charged with a February shooting that left two victims dead and a third man injured, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Ky’Mani “Fathead” Dolphin, 21, of Anna’s Retreat, was arrested on a warrant Wednesday and charged with first- and second-degree murder, use of a firearm during those crimes, and unauthorized possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. Bail was set at $750,000 and Dolphin was jailed until his advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court, according to the VIPD.
The shooting occurred at about 2:09 a.m. on February 20, and officers responded to several 911 calls reporting gunfire in the area of the Lutheran Church on Norre Gade on St. Thomas, police said.
Officers arrived and found 21-year-old Jequan George slumped over in the passenger seat of a dark-colored SUV and Emergency Medical Technicians determined at the scene that he had no signs of life, according to police.
Two more men arrived at the Schneider Hospital emergency room with gunshot wounds. Taheem Monsanto, 21, died from his injuries, VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said.
The Virgin Islands Magistrate Court issued an arrest warrant for Dolphin Tuesday. Police arrested him Wednesday. The court typically releases an arrest warrant affidavit detailing the police investigation after a defendant’s initial court appearance.
Dolphin was previously arrested for a 2019 gunpoint robbery, and a jury found him not guilty of all charges after an April 2022 trial.
During the trial, two witnesses said Dolphin made “gestures of a gun with his fingers and tapped it against his body, while looking at them,” while outside the court. Dolphin was arrested and charged with disturbance of the peace, two counts of retaliating against or threatening a witness, and one count of preventing or dissuading witnesses from attending trial.
At his initial court appearance, public defender Thoron Corey Hodge said Dolphin “completely denies these allegations” and “he believes this was their revenge to get him, because he was found not guilty.”
Prosecutors dismissed those charges in August.
On the eve of the robbery trial, Dolphin was also charged in March 2022 with several drug and gun crimes after a domestic dispute. He pleaded guilty in October to one count of failure to report a firearm brought into the territory under an agreement with prosecutors, according to court records.
In November, Judge Renee Gumbs Carty sentenced Dolphin to a two-year suspended sentence and two years of supervised probation, meaning that Dolphin could be made to serve some or all of the suspended sentence if he violates the terms of his release.
Anyone with information about the case or other crimes in the territory is urged to call the VIPD at 340-774-2211, the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Major Crimes Unit at 340-642-8449, or the anonymous tip service Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.