(U.S. Virgin Islands)- V.I. Attorney General Denise George has announced that on Friday, a Superior Court jury found Samuel Roberts guilty of murder after a shooting in 2017 that left Mc. Donald Samuel dead and Taheem Samuel injured. The trial began on Monday, June 27, 2022, in V.I. Superior Court on St, Croix.
The Defendant was found guilty of First Degree Murder, Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm Within 1000 Feet of a School, Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence, First Degree Assault on Mc. Donald Samuel, First Degree Assault on Taheem Samuel, Possession of Ammunition, Third Degree Assault on Taheem Samuel, Third Degree Assault on Mc. Donald Samuel, Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, Failure to Report Firearms Obtained Outside or Brought into the Virgin Islands.
The prosecution team proved to the jury that on January 31, 2017, in the vicinity of Building 17 Lorraine Village, Apartments, Frederiksted, Roberts unlawfully and with malice aforethought, did, with willful, deliberate, and premeditated design, kill McDonald Samuel with a firearm capable of expending .40 caliber bullets within 1000 feet of the Eulalie Rivera Elementary School. Roberts was also charged with assault with intent to commit murder as he assaulted Taheem Samuel with a firearm. According to court documents, police said on that day in 2017, the call center received reports of shots fired at Lorraine Village between Buildings 16 and 17.
On the scene, police found McDonald Samuel unresponsive on the ground with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Taheem Samuel escaped with gunshot wounds. Both men were taken to Juan F. Luis Hospital and Mc. Donald Samuel of Estate Strawberry was pronounced dead by the emergency room doctor. An autopsy disclosed that he died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Taheem Samuel was treated for a gunshot wound to his right arm and a graze wound to his right chest. Police were able to retrieve surveillance video and received witness statements during the investigation.
For the First Degree Murder conviction, the Defendant faces up to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2022
Sandra Goomansingh
Media Relations Director
(340)774-5666 ext. 10105
Email: Sandra.goomansingh@doj.vi.gov