A 34-year-old St. Croix resident ended months of evasion by surrendering at the Wilbur H. Francis Command Police Station in Mars Hill on Tuesday. Akeem Matthew presented himself to face attempted murder and felony weapons charges connected to a shooting seven months earlier.
Matthew appeared before Magistrate Judge Christopher M. Timmons on Wednesday for an Advice of Rights hearing under case number SX-2026-CR-00160. He was held on a $100,000 bail.
The charges relate to events on Saturday, March 14, 2026, when gunfire erupted at the Lorraine Village Housing Apartments around 5:05 a.m. Police said Matthew fired multiple rounds at a male driver attempting to leave the scene. The driver, struck by the gunfire, struck a bystander with his vehicle while fleeing.
A Superior Court magistrate issued an arrest warrant for Matthew on July 10. Ten days later, tactical teams from the VIPD Criminal Investigation Bureau and Special Operations Bureau conducted a predawn raid on Building C, Unit 11 at the Croixville Housing Apartments. Officers breached the unit but found Matthew absent. Inside, detectives detained two occupants, Omani Abraham and an unnamed woman, and recovered a loaded Glock 27.40 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number from a closet shelf, along with ammunition and narcotics. Abraham later acknowledged under questioning that the firearm belonged to him.
Matthew now faces seven felony counts: carrying firearms openly or concealed, first-degree assault or attempted murder, carrying or using a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence, third-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, possession or sale of ammunition, and discharging or aiming a firearm.
Unable to meet bail, Matthew was remanded to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility in Golden Grove pending trial.
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