CIB Investigates Fatal Shooting of Rusiel ‘Romeo’ Encarnacion in Estate Whim
With a violent, 17-year criminal docket spanning from federal armed robbery sprees to attempted murder charges, Encarnacion finally runs out of time on a dark West End road.
THE REST OF THE STORY: A smiling Rusiel "Romeo" Encarnacion, 45, in an official law enforcement file photo. Encarnacion, who survived a lifetime of major federal and territorial criminal charges, was gunned down and killed in Estate Whim on Monday evening. (Photo: VIPD)
By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun News Reporter
ESTATE WHIM — A notorious St. Croix figure with a violent criminal history spanning nearly two decades was gunned down in a hail of bullets in West End on Monday evening, sparking a major mobilization of local homicide detectives.
The violent sequence unfolded at approximately 6:04 p.m. when the St. Croix 911 Emergency Call Center lit up with an automated ShotSpotter notification alongside frantic calls from residents reporting a barrage of gunfire and a wounded man on the ground in the Whim neighborhood. Virgin Islands Police Department officers, alongside Emergency Medical Services personnel, rushed towards the scene through the narrowing dirt roads of the estate. Upon their arrival, first responders discovered 45-year-old Rusiel Encarnacion suffering from multiple severe gunshot wounds. Although emergency personnel quickly loaded Encarnacion into an ambulance and rushed him to the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital for emergency medical treatment, he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead by medical staff. Family members later arrived at the hospital to formally identify the deceased.
WEST END AMBUSH: Yellow police tape cordons off a narrow road in Estate Whim as Virgin Islands Police Department cruisers pack the background on Monday night. Automated ShotSpotter sensors detected a barrage of gunfire at 6:04 p.m., leaving 45-year-old Rusiel Encarnacion dead. (VIPD Photo)
As dusk fell over the West End on Monday, a grim scene remained behind the police barricades. Yellow crime scene tape stretched across the front of a dual-wheel pickup truck parked along the shoulder, cutting off access to the narrow roadway lined with dense banana trees and brush. Further down the path, a long line of police cruisers sat with their blue lights flashing against the darkening sky as technicians combed the dirt for spent shell casings and forensic evidence.
For the residents of St. Croix, the news of Encarnacion’s death immediately sent shockwaves through social media, sending traffic surging towards past investigative reports detailing his extensive history with territorial and federal law enforcement. To many, Encarnacion was widely known by his street moniker "Romeo," a name that had frequently topped police blotters and court dockets for major violent offenses.
His most recent high-profile clash with the law occurred in February 2022, when a residence in Estate Whim was sprayed with high-powered rifle fire, leaving a minor inside the home with a gunshot wound to the leg. The brazen attack triggered a massive VIPD manhunt for Encarnacion, who was described by detectives at the time as being heavily tattooed across his face and body. The hunt grew so intense that police raided his girlfriend's home a month later, uncovering a .40-caliber "ghost gun" and a cache of illegal firearms, before a specialized operations team finally cornered and captured Encarnacion back in Whim on March 8, 2022. He was subsequently hit with a $500,000 bail and slapped with charges of First-Degree Attempted Murder, Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, and Reckless Endangerment.
The 2022 shooting was merely the latest chapter in a rap sheet that extended into the federal justice system. In January 2013, Encarnacion was indicted by a federal grand jury following a violent, back-to-back armed robbery spree alongside two co-defendants. On that night, the crew robbed multiple victims at gunpoint outside the Cool Out Bar in Estate Peter's Rest before striking another group of victims less than an hour later on Hospital Street in Christiansted. In a cinematic twist, the victims of the first robbery were inside the Marshall Command police station filing a report when they spotted the suspects' silver Toyota Corolla driving right past the building. Alerted by the victims, VIPD units executed a high-stakes traffic stop near the La Reine Service Station, discovering three loaded handguns—one with obliterated serial numbers—hidden inside the vehicle panels right where Encarnacion was riding shotgun, leading to a 21-count federal indictment. Years prior, in December 2009, a then-29-year-old Encarnacion had also surrendered to homicide detectives following a deadly altercation at the Frits E. Lawaetz housing community that left one man dead and a woman injured, resulting in initial charges of First-Degree Murder.
Now, the Criminal Investigation Bureau is left to untangle the web of rivalries and street grievances that may have led to Monday's fatal ambush. The VIPD emphasizes that this homicide case remains under active investigation and is fiercely urging anyone with information regarding the shooting to step forward. Authorities are asking citizens to contact 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-778-2211, or to submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers VI at 1-800-222-TIPS.
