A Superior Court judge has ordered the release of Jerome Wallace III after prosecutors abandoned murder charges against him, more than six years after his arrest in connection with a fatal shooting on St. Croix.
On May 15, 2020, Selena Chitolie, 19, was shot while riding in a vehicle with family members who were looking for a rental property in the Mount Pleasant area near Frederiksted. The shooting stemmed from mistaken identity: Jiovoni Smith believed the family was surveying his home to rob it, so he and three companions pursued their car. Smith fired an AR-15 rifle, killing Chitolie. Her mother sustained a neck wound but survived; her brother escaped injury. Chitolie succumbed to her injuries at a Florida hospital on May 26, 2020.
Wallace claimed to investigators that masked gunmen had carjacked him and compelled him to serve as their driver. He was taken into custody on July 11, 2020, with bail fixed at $2 million.
On October 8, prosecutors filed to dismiss the case "with prejudice," signalling no intention to pursue charges again. Judge Alphonso Andrews Jr. approved the motion on Thursday, citing prosecutors' statement that they lack sufficient evidence to prove their case.
The matter had suffered from severe procedural complications. Trial dates exceeded ten in number, each postponed. Wallace retained five separate court-appointed attorneys, each seeking to withdraw due to what the judge described as deterioration of the attorney-client relationship.
Two co-defendants have faced conviction. Jiovoni Smith entered a guilty plea and received a 30-year sentence in 2024. Calijah Brewley similarly pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years. A fourth defendant, a minor at the time of the shooting, also faced charges.
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