ST. CROIX — A Superior Court judge on Wednesday sentenced Ryan Branch to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2023 fatal shooting of Milton Gordon as part of a global plea agreement resolving two cases.
Under the deal, Branch pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense of second-degree murder, which carries a minimum prison term of five years.
The charge stemmed from a first-degree murder case against Branch and Elijah Spencer. Both men were also charged with first- and third-degree assault, conspiracy, unauthorized firearm possession, possession of ammunition, and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining counts against Branch with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.
According to the plea agreement, Branch and Spencer intentionally shot and killed Gordon on April 2, 2023, in Christiansted.
Gordon was a homeless veteran known by the nickname “Bobo.” He was a client of The Collective Collaboration Inc., a nonprofit that operated a Christiansted homeless shelter that has since closed and is seeking a new location.
Karen Dickenson, founder and president of The Collective Collaboration, described Gordon as a humble, jovial, and knowledgeable person who liked to joke and never troubled anyone. She criticized the sentence Branch received.
“The sentence was too low,” she said. “They took an innocent life. It says to the community that the individuals on the street don’t have any value.”
Dickenson said Gordon served the country proudly, adding she has seen harsher sentences for lesser crimes.
“For whatever reason, he had challenges in life, like many of my family on the street, and I think the 30 years was an insult, a disrespect to the community and to the unsheltered population,” she said.
A candlelight vigil for Gordon was held April 14, 2023, on Company Street across from Divi Divi Fabrics, where he was found shot to death. Dickenson recalled hearing the gunfire that morning.
“I heard those shots, and I would never forget them,” she said, noting the shooting occurred around 4 a.m. “It was a barbaric death. They assassinated ‘Bobo.’”
Dickenson said Gordon was staying at the shelter but woke early and left after new medication had made him sleep most of the previous day.
She said The Collective Collaboration hosted his funeral at Holy Cross Catholic Church, where Legionnaires, National Guard members, and people from the unsheltered community helped honor him.
Judge Venetia Harvey Velázquez sentenced Branch to 30 years in prison in accordance with the global plea agreement negotiated between Assistant Attorney General Robert Pickett and Assistant Territorial Public Defender Dwayne Henry. The sentence resolves both the homicide case and a 2022 vehicle theft case.
Under the agreement, any sentence imposed in the 2022 vehicle case will run concurrently with the 30-year sentence for second-degree murder, meaning it does not add additional prison time.
The plea agreement includes several waivers. Branch gave up his right to appeal his conviction and sentence except if the sentence exceeds the statutory maximum. He also waived the right to file most post-conviction challenges.
Branch also waived his right to request investigative records from Virgin Islands government agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Police Department, and agreed to withdraw pending pretrial motions. He also waived objections related to searches, seizures, arrests and statements connected to the case.
By sentencing Branch in line with the negotiated recommendation, the court finalized the resolution outlined in the written plea agreement.
While Branch has been sentenced, Spencer’s case remains active.
Prosecutors most recently filed a motion Feb. 27 seeking additional time to complete a psychological evaluation.
In December 2024, the government moved to sever the cases against the two defendants, stating that Spencer had given a video statement confessing to the killing and implicating Branch.
Spencer is also charged in two other criminal cases.
In one case, he is accused of attempted first-degree murder, first- and third-degree assault, unauthorized possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of ammunition, and first-degree reckless endangerment for allegedly shooting at two people on April 19, 2025, near Frontline Bar and Grill.
In a separate case, Spencer faces charges of carrying a firearm openly or concealed and unauthorized possession of ammunition after police searched his bedroom during the investigation of the Frontline shooting and allegedly found a handgun with no serial number that had been modified to fire like an automatic weapon, along with ammunition.
Two days before a competency hearing scheduled for January 30 in the homicide case, prosecutors notified the court that Judge Ernest Morris Jr. had recently found Spencer incompetent in his two other criminal cases. Pickett stated in the notice to the court that prosecutors consulted with the evaluating psychiatrist and believe the conclusions in the doctor’s report also apply to the homicide case, supporting a finding that Spencer is incompetent to stand trial.
