Keano George, 21, has been charged with first-degree assault with intent to commit murder, third-degree assault, and possession of a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence following a stabbing incident early Saturday, November 7, near Sand Castle on the Beach in Frederiksted.
George appeared in Superior Court on Monday for an Advice of Rights hearing. He was remanded to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility in Golden Grove on $75,000 bail, which he was unable to post.
Police received a call at 4:24 a.m. reporting that a stabbing victim had presented himself at the Wilbur H. Francis Command police station in Frederiksted. The injured man, Darren Kelly, was transported by ambulance to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital where he was found to have a collapsed right lung. Medical staff inserted a drainage tube into his chest cavity.
According to a probable cause fact sheet filed by Detective Leon Cruz Jr. of the Major Crimes Unit, George, his brother Khalid George, and Kelly had spent Friday night and into Saturday morning drinking and driving throughout St. Croix. The group stopped at the Mountain Gas Station, where Kelly fell asleep in the rear passenger seat.
George told investigators he believed Kelly had left the vehicle. George then drove alone toward Sand Castle on the Beach after entering the service station to purchase plantain chips. As he travelled down Veteran's Shore Drive and approached the secluded resort area, George said he spotted a figure lying in his backseat through the rearview mirror. Convinced he was facing an ambush, he pulled over, exited the car, opened the rear passenger door, and repeatedly stabbed the shadowy form with a black-handled kitchen knife he carried for personal protection.
Kelly woke during the attack and seized the blade from George, shouting "Hey, what's going on?" The stabbing ceased at that moment. George told police he then recognised his friend, understood what had happened, and apologised.
George drove back to the Mountain Gas Station with blood on his hands and told his brother, "I needed help. I stabbed Darren Kelly." Khalid George took both men to the Frederiksted police station: Kelly to receive emergency treatment and his brother to surrender to authorities.
During interviews with detectives, both George and his brother stated that the suspect had received an honourable discharge from the U.S. Army and suffers from PTSD, severe depression, and anxiety. They said he declines to take prescribed medication.
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