U.S. Virgin Islands – V.I. Attorney General Nominee Gordon C. Rhea has announced that Jiovani Smith, 24, has been sentenced today for the Second-Degree Homicide of Selena Chitolie in 2020. V.I. Superior Court Judge Alfonso Andrews Jr. imposed a thirty-year prison term on Smith.
On May 15, 2020, Smith, along with several other men, followed and shot at a family who was driving through the area in search of housing. The shooting resulted in the death of 19-year-old Selena Chitolie. Her mother, Nissa Camacho who was also shot, still carries a bullet fragment in her neck. Earlier this year, Smith pleaded guilty to the crime, along with one of the other two men involved, Calijah Brewley, who is awaiting sentencing. The third man, Jerome Wallace, is still awaiting trial.
According to a police affidavit, Ms. Camacho reported that she and her two children were driving through the Mount Pleasant area of Frederiksted St. Croix, in search of a rental home. She described hearing multiple gunshots and noticing dust rising around their vehicle as they approached the Evelyn M. Williams Elementary School. Ms. Camacho said she then realized that her daughter, Chitolie, the driver of their car, had been shot. She recalled seeing a slender black male emerge from the front passenger side of a silver four-door Ford Focus, armed with a long gun, and firing at their vehicle. Chitolie sustained a gunshot wound to the back of her neck and was airlifted for further treatment, where she later succumbed to her injuries. Ms. Camacho, who was the front seat passenger, was also shot in the neck.
Prosecutors from the Virgin Islands Department of Justice (DOJ), including Assistant Attorneys General Robert Pickett and Travis Crowell along with Criminal Chief Amie Simpson handled this court case.
The Court heard statements from Smith, his attorney Semaj Johnson, Ms. Chitolie’s family, and DOJ Criminal Chief Simpson, who highlighted that Smith was out on release for a firearms charge at the time of the murder. Judge Andrews emphasized the ongoing gun violence crisis in the territory during his ruling, asserting that the judicial system must send a strong message to the community that senseless killings will not be tolerated.
AG nominee Rhea expresses sincere gratitude to DOJ’s Criminal Chief Amie Simpson and AAGs Robert Pickett and Travis Crowell for their outstanding work on this case. He also acknowledges the hard work and dedication of Detective Aisha Jules and the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2024
Sandra Goomansingh
Media Relations Director
(340) 774-5666 ext. 10105
Email: sandra.goomansingh@doj.vi.gov