U.S. Virgin Islands – Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announced that the legal action filed by Supervisor of Elections, Ms. Carolyn F. Fawkes, against the Board of Elections and its members who voted to place candidate Ms. Ida Smith’s name on the ballot was dismissed on November 12, 2024, following a Memorandum Decision and Order issued on November 8, 2024. The Court held that as an employee of the Government of the Virgin Islands, Ms. Fawkes had no authority to independently sue, without explicit statutory authority to do so, except under the enforcement authority of the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands. The Court further held that Ms. Fawkes could not continue her suit as a taxpayer “because she cannot show that she has suffered an injury of some substantial right”.
U.S. Virgin Islands – Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announced today that 37 federal law enforcement officers have recently been commissioned as Virgin Islands Peace Officers. The officers received their commissions after completing the required training on Virgin Islands history and cultural sensitivities, led by UVI Professor Olasee Davis.
U.S. Virgin Islands -V.I. Attorney General Designee Gordon C. Rhea announced that 35- year-old Tyley Smith was sentenced on September 30, 2024, to thirty years in prison for the June 2021 homicide of 58-year-old Nancy Nieves
U.S. Virgin Islands – V.I. Attorney General Nominee Gordon C. Rhea announced that a V.I. Superior Court jury has found Ramon A. Ledesma German guilty of felony assault, following a machete attack that resulted in injuries to Nilvo Mateo.
U.S. Virgin Islands – In a letter to Chief Territorial Public Defender Julie S. Todman, Esq., today, V.I. Attorney General Nominee Gordon C. Rhea expressed his willingness to cooperate with her request for the V.I. Department of Justice (DOJ) to identify the clients connected to the devices handed over to Mon Ethos by the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD). He also agreed to provide a list of prosecutions from 2022 to the present in which the Whitaker Entities offered support, assistance, or bailment services. The AG Nominee’s letter was sent today in response to Chief Todman’s request dated August 19, 2024, seeking this information.