In a coordinated pre-dawn law enforcement operation in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia, authorities have taken into custody the primary suspect wanted for a 2024 murder that has lingered on the island’s unsolved crime docket for more than a year.
The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force confirmed that joint teams from the southern divisions of the Gangs, Narcotics and Firearms Unit and the Tactical Response Unit launched the targeted operation at a property on St Paul’s Lane at approximately 4:00 a.m. local time on April 22, 2026. The operation was centered on a court-authorized search warrant executed at the residential address of Carlton Charles, where investigators had received intelligence that the long-sought fugitive was hiding.
During the systematic search of the property, officers located and arrested Dan Decuoine Phillip, the identified main suspect in the fatal shooting of Nke St Ville. St Ville was killed in an incident in Gros Islet on September 8, 2024. Law enforcement officials noted that an active arrest warrant had been issued for Phillip shortly after the 2024 killing, but the suspect had successfully evaded capture for nearly 19 months prior to Wednesday’s operation.
Alongside Phillip’s apprehension, two additional individuals were also detained at the scene. The pair are currently facing expected charges of harbouring a wanted fugitive, per official police statements. The arrest marks a major breakthrough in the high-profile homicide case, bringing the primary accused into custody after months of investigative work and targeted intelligence gathering.