From the Virgin Island Daily News of March 11, 2006
Boss kills machete-wielding employee, police say
A 34-year-old electrician who police said chased his boss with a machete was shot and killed Friday afternoon. No arrests were made.
Brendan Maloney, born in St. Kitts, was pronounced dead at 2:25 p.m. in the Phase Two parking lot of Lovenlund Apartments.
Police received a 911 call at 2:18 p.m. According to the blotter, an unofficial record of calls to emergency dispatchers, the caller reported a fight between two men in the parking lot near Building 12.
Witnesses told police the shooting occurred after an argument between Maloney and his boss, Ivan Mills of Mills Electric Inc., over an undisclosed amount of money, police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Hannah said. According to police, Mills told Maloney the wiring job he did at another worksite was not done according to specifications and he refused to pay him.
"Maloney became irate and threatened to cut Mr. Mills' arm off," Hannah said.
Maloney went to his red Chevy S-10 pickup and got out a machete with a red handle.
Hannah said Maloney followed Mills with the machete.
"When Mills couldn't run anymore, Maloney raised the machete," Hannah said. "Mills retrieved his gun and fired a single shot."
The single bullet from the licensed firearm entered the left side of Maloney's chest.
At 2:20 p.m. construction workers and residents stared down at Maloney's shirtless body lying face up with arms stretched wide in parking space 303 between a white Ford F-150 and a maroon GMC Sierra. The machete rested inches from his left hand - in a pool of blood.
When area schoolchildren arrived, Maloney's dark blue jeans and dusty, black boots were the only things visible under the white blood-spotted sheet while investigators waited for the medical examiner to arrive.
Mills surrendered the gun and left the scene voluntarily with police.
Detectives are investigating the shooting as a homicide, Hannah said.
The shooting was in self-defense, said Michael Heinle, field operations supervisor with Rosenberg Painting.
No comments:
Post a Comment