Suspect in USVI Festival Village Murder found guilty
ST. CROIX, USVI — Jurors empanelled for the murder trial of Angel Parrilla, Jr., were not convinced by his claim of self-defence and convicted him of murder, assault and weapons charges in connection with a 2018 killing during the Frederiksted Festival activities, the USVIPD Department of Justice said Friday.
Following four days of testimony, the three men and nine women of the jury returned a unanimous verdict Thursday, July, 25, 2019, finding Parrilla, 23, of the Walter I.M. Hodge Housing Community, guilty of one count each of second-degree murder, unauthorized possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, first-degree assault, possession of ammunition, first-degree reckless endangerment and discharging or aiming a firearm, stemming from the Jan. 6, 2018, shooting death of Curtis Phipps.
Parrilla, who was granted pre-trial release into the charge of a third-party custodian and was placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring, was remanded into custody immediately after the jury announced its verdict.
In commenting on the outcome of the trial, Attorney General Denise George said, “I am pleased with the results. Justice has been served and I commend Assistant Attorneys General Eric Chancellor and Vanessa Hewitt-Quinland for their excellent performance.”
At trial, the prosecution team of Assistant Attorneys General Chancellor and Quinland relied on the testimony of ten witnesses, including one eyewitness, to help prove its case.
The eyewitness came forward a day after the shooting and identified Parrilla aka Cheeze as the shooting suspect, according to a probable cause fact sheet filed by Det. Sgt. Frankie Ortiz.
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