32 inmates to face parole board in December across four locations

The Virgin Islands Parole Board will conduct parole hearings for 32 inmates across four locations in early December, with several prisoners convicted of serious crimes eligible to seek release.

On December 3, two prisoners held at the Farrelly Criminal Justice Complex on St. Thomas will appear. Edward Richards was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender, while Valatina Sanchez received a conviction for first-degree assault involving domestic violence.

Nine inmates from the Bell Adult Correctional Facility on St. Croix will have hearings on December 4. The group includes Aubrey Frett, serving a 15-year sentence for Jerome Turnbull's murder in 2018. Daryl Jean-Baptiste, who received two years for involuntary manslaughter stemming from a 2019 vehicle crash that killed Davindra Ramsundar Jr., is also scheduled to appear. Shamal Gabriel, sentenced to nine years in 2024 for voluntary manslaughter following Delroy Venzen's shooting death on St. Thomas in 2023, will also face the board. The remaining St. Croix cases involve convictions for weapons offences, sexual crimes, assault and prison contraband promotion.

Twenty-one prisoners held at Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi will have hearings from December 7 through 9. Three face second-degree murder convictions: Tahira Charles, sentenced in 2017 to 25 years for killing Caseam Daniel on St. Thomas; Leozardise Casanova, given 35 years in 2016 for the death of Javier de Jesus; and Azamba Galloway, sentenced to 14 years in 2024 for Curtis Fredericks Jr.'s murder in 2019. Other Mississippi inmates have convictions ranging from robbery and rape to burglary, assault and weapons possession.

Five inmates held in Virginia prisons will appear on December 11, including Jermaine Williams, convicted of second-degree murder for killing Delano Dowe in 2010.

Victims, family members and others wishing to testify or submit comments must contact the V.I. Parole Board by November 30. The board can be reached at 340-773-6309, Extension 6817, or [email protected].