Nyron Erickson Shot and Killed in West End

Nyron Erickson was shot and killed in broad daylight on Saturday afternoon in  the West End area of Tortola, the British Virgin Islands, in an attack that police say is now the focus of an active investigation.

The 33-year-old, who had been at the centre of a high-profile international legal case, was fatally wounded shortly after 3:00 p.m. on May 10 while riding a scooter in the area.

According to the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF), unknown assailants opened fire, striking him multiple times.

Officers responded to the scene and cordoned off the entrance to Zion Hill, near Big Ben’s Gas Station, as investigations began.

The RVIPF confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday, adding that the matter remains under active investigation.

Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Kenrick Davis stressed that he was alarm at the continued use of violence in the Territory.

“Every life lost to gun violence is one too many. With each incident of this kind, the immediate family members suffer immense loss and grief, but the entire
community also suffers from the resultant vicarious trauma. This trauma is manifested in many ways, including a shared fear of crime, which negatively
impacts the quality of life. We are doing everything we can to solve this instant crime, but there has to be an all-hands-on-deck approach to mitigate gun
violence in the Territory.”

He added: “We are urging the community to come forward with any information, no matter how small, that may assist us in identifying and bringing those
responsible to justice.”

An unverified video circulating on multiple social media platforms in the BVI appears to show the moment of the shooting, with armed assailants firing
several rounds from a moving vehicle. Police are yet to officially comment on the authenticity of the footage.

Erickson’s death brings a sudden and violent close to a complex legal saga that extended across BVI, United States Virgin Islands
(USVI), and the United Kingdom (UK).

His legal challenges began in August 2019, when a federal grand jury in St. Thomas, USVI, indicted him over an alleged conspiracy in 2018 to transport
$130,000 in suspected drug proceeds from Tortola to the USVI via ferry.

An arrest warrant was issued in the United States on January 17, 2020, followed by a local warrant from the RVIPF in February. Erickson remained at large for several months before voluntarily surrendering to authorities on August 30, 2020.

He was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison on Tortola and spent more than two years contesting extradition to the US. His appeals ultimately failed before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council—Tortola’s highest appellate court—and he was extradited on February 27, 2023.

In the USVI, he was charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and the unlawful transportation of funds into the United States. However, the case fell apart, and federal prosecutors dropped the charges after six months.

Upon his return to the BVI, Erickson was arrested again on September 20, 2023, moments after disembarking a ferry in Road Town. Five days later, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed 21 charges against him, including possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of cocaine and cannabis, and money laundering.

Erickson strongly challenged the prosecution’s evidence. The Crown relied heavily on WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between Erickson and co-accused Jose Almestica, along with forensic voice analysis reports and witness testimony.

His defence team argued that the WhatsApp messages and related reports constituted “hearsay upon hearsay” and lacked sufficient legal or expert foundation. They further disputed the credibility of a witness who claimed to identify Erickson by the aliases “WestBank” and “BandSpatron”, asserting that the evidence was inadmissible and unreliable.

Citing multiple precedents from UK appellate courts and the Privy Council, the defence insisted that extrajudicial statements, particularly those from a co- accused, should not be used to implicate their client.

Erickson was quietly released from custody and remained in the Territory at the time of his death. The DPP has not publicly shared the status of his case to date.

As of Sunday morning, no arrests had been announced. Police urge the public with any information to make contact. Meanwhile, inquiries into the fatal shooting are ongoing.