Man in shooting that killed woman near school sentenced to 30 years

Jiovani Smith has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of 19-year-old Selena Chitolie, whose mother was also severely wounded in the 2020 shooting.

Smith, 24, is one of four people charged in connection with the crime that occurred on the afternoon of May 15, 2020, near Evelyn Williams Elementary School in Frederiksted. The shooting appeared to be a case of mistaken identity after a woman and her two children who were driving through the area inadvertently attracted Smith’s attention, and he “assumed that someone was casing his house,” according to the warrant for Smith’s arrest.

Smith and three others followed the vehicle and Smith got out and began shooting with an AR-15 rifle, according to a witness. Chitolie, who was driving the family’s vehicle, was shot in the back of the neck and airlifted off-island for further treatment. Her mother was seated in the front passenger seat and was also shot in the neck.

Chitolie’s brother was in the back seat and was not struck during the shooting, according to the warrant. Smith and another man, Calijah Brewley, were initially charged with attempted murder. But following Chitolie’s death in a Florida hospital on May 26, 2020, police upgraded the charges.