After listening to three days of testimony, a Territorial Court jury of six men and six women found Constantine Joseph guilty of voluntary manslaughter Thursday.
Joseph was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime for the 1996 shooting of Clyde Cameron.
Soon after the killing, Joseph fled the territory and eluded authorities until he was arrested in New York in September 1998.
Joseph and Cameron, who had had previous run-ins, encountered each other in a horse stable at the Clinton Phipps Racetrack on May 19, 1996. Witness testimony indicated that an altercation occurred and Cameron picked up a 2-by-4 piece of wood, hitting Joseph several times. It was then that Joseph fired at Cameron.
Judge Soraya Diase denied the defense's motion for leniency based on Joseph's stance that he acted in self-defense.
Iver Stridiron, acting Attorney General said Joseph could get 15 years in prison, according to the Daily News.
According to the Virgin Islands Independent, attorney Alvin Entin, Florida-based co-counsel for the defense, said he plans to file a motion to retry his client's case.
Assistant Attorney General Lofton Holder prosecuted the case.
A sentencing date has been scheduled for Aug. 12.