The body of 20-year-old Titus Jaunai was discovered early Tuesday in the vicinity of Annaly Farms in Estate Upper Love. Police are investigating a possible connection between the death and an attempted armed robbery of the meat market on Monday.
According to the preliminary police report, three men tried to rob Annaly Farms at gunpoint at about noon Monday. The suspects ran off when a shot was fired.
By 12:30 p.m., police cars from all over the island had homed in on the Upper and Lower Love areas, blocking roads and scouring fields and brush in an attempt to capture the suspects. From an area bounded roughly by Queen Mary Highway on the south, Midland Road on the north, Highway 69 (Paradise Road) on the west and the Department of Agriculture facilities on the east, police stood on top of their cars for better vantages and ranged across the open fields.
But the suspects eluded capture at that time.
At about 1 a.m. Tuesday, police were notified of a body, later identified as Jaunai, on the side of the road near Annaly Farms.
Police said Jaunai was already on three years’ probation beginning in February 2008 for a prior crime.
The Major Crimes Bureau and Investigation Bureau are following up on this case. Anyone having information on this crime can call the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 712-6077 or 712-6037, the Major Crimes Bureau at 712-6075 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
This is the 17th homicide on St. Croix since the beginning of the year, and the 47th in the territory.