Fountain Valley massacre
Fountain Valley massacre | |
---|---|
Location | Fountain Valley Golf Course, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands |
Coordinates | 17°44′31″N 64°48′52″W / 17.74194°N 64.81444°W |
Date | 6 September 1972 |
Attack type | Mass shooting, robbery |
Weapons | Firearms |
Deaths | 8 |
Injured | 8 |
Perpetrators | Ishmael LaBeet, Beaumont Gereau, Meral Smith, Warren Ballentine, and Raphael Joseph |
The Fountain Valley massacre was a
Massacre
The perpetrators were five Virgin Islanders, Ishmael LaBeet, Beaumont Gereau, Meral Smith, Warren Ballentine, and Raphael Joseph. Authorities initially believed the five had committed the execution-style shootings in the course of a robbery gone bad, but later developments suggested that the killing was planned by at least one of the perpetrators. Joseph and Ballentine testified at trial that they had expected only to commit a robbery[2] but that things got out of hand because LaBeet was adamant that they also make "a political statement"; LaBeet told them "he was angry about foreigners coming in to take our money and leaving us with nothing." According to Joseph, during the robbery LaBeet suddenly began shooting people, while yelling epithets like "I hate you white motherfuckers!"[2]
Trial and convictions
All five defendants were convicted after a jury trial in the
The convictions were affirmed in 1974 by the
LaBeet has since denied any involvement in the 1972 shooting.[6]
Aftermath
The public's perception of a racial motivation for the killings and fear of further violence led to a steep decline in tourism to St. Croix, from which the island's tourism industry only recovered decades later.[3]
American musician Sherman Kelly has claimed he was assaulted by some of the same perpetrators three years before the Fountain Valley shooting. While recovering from the assault, Kelly wrote the song "Dancing in the Moonlight" to imagine "an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life."[7] The song, released in 1970, later became a hit for King Harvest and again for Toploader.
On 31 December 1984, LaBeet (then calling himself Ismail Muslim Ali) hijacked
Joseph received a pardon from the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1994 after 22 years' imprisonment, but died four years later of a drug overdose.[3][2] The other three served 29 years in federal prison before being returned to Virgin Islands custody and then retransferred to private prisons in the U.S.[11] As of 2022, they remained incarcerated at the Citrus County Detention Facility, north of Tampa, Florida.[12]
References
- ^ Day, Jim (6 September 2002). "30 YEARS AFTER MASSACRE, LABEET'S FATE UNKNOWN". St. Croix Source. St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9781628579840.
- ^ a b c Greaux, Jr., Jean P. (6 September 2002). "FOUNTAIN VALLEY PUT V.I. IN UNWANTED SPOTLIGHT". St. Croix Source. St, Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ "Gov't of Virgin Islands v. Gereau (502 F.2d 914)". Casemine. Gauge Data Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Gov't of Virgin Islands v. Gereau (523 F.2d 140)". Justia US Law. Justia. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Virgin Islands 3". Prisoner Solidarity. Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Sherman Kelly". Sherman Kelly. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ Kerr, Peter (1 January 1985). "NEW YORK-BOUND FLIGHT HIJACKED TO CUBA BY CONVICTED MURDERER". The New York Times. New York, New York. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ Pennington, Shaun (23 April 2015). "Cuban Diary: Fountain Valley Killer LaBeet Alive and Well in Cuba". St. Croix Source. St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "'The Skyjacker's Tale': Film Review | TIFF 2016". The Hollywood Reporter, September 11, 2016.
- ^ "Virgin Islands 3". Prisoner Solidarity. Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "About the Case". Virgin Island 3. Retrieved 4 January 2024.