Law360 (June 1, 2026, 6:53 PM EDT) -- A man accused of killing a detective in the Virgin Islands won't face the death penalty because prosecutors missed a court-imposed deadline, but the crime qualifies for death, should prosecutors seek the penalty in similar cases, the Third Circuit said in a matter of first impression Monday.

In a unanimous precedential opinion, a three-judge panel said Richardson Dangleben Jr. was alleged to have committed crimes in the U.S. Virgin Islands that would qualify as crimes of violence under federal law, but the panel also said the lower court was correct to say the government missed a court-imposed deadline and could no longer seek the death penalty.

The panel explained that as long as an offense was a firearm murder, it would qualify for the death penalty, disagreeing with a lower court judge, who had ruled that Dangleben could not be subject to the death penalty because the Virgin Islands law did not allow for it.

The Third Circuit ruled that Virgin Islands territorial offenses can qualify as predicate crimes of violence under Section 924(c), and if such a crime results in death, a defendant would be eligible for the death penalty under Section 924(j)(1), should the government properly seek it.

As a result, the panel reversed the dismissal of several federal counts against Dangleben, including three predicate offenses from Count One, with instructions to reinstate those charges.

However, the panel affirmed that the government's notice to seek the death penalty came too late because it was filed "well over a year after the court-extended deadline of February 12, 2024."

The panel explained that the government couldn't just come in and seek the death penalty at such a late date, suggesting the remedy was sought as a result of an executive order demanding death in cases where law enforcement officers were killed.

Dangleben was charged with first-degree murder and released prior to trial, but then four months later, he engaged in a shootout with police on St. Thomas, the panel said. Although Dangleben was shot several times, he survived, but Virgin Islands Detective Delberth Phipps Jr. "was not so fortunate," the panel said.

The detective died from a single gunshot wound, according to the panel, and during a search police found a loaded handgun, ammunition and 300 grams of marijuana in Dangleben's car.

Dangleben was indicted in 2023 on various charges in connection with the incident but was initially told that the death penalty would not be sought in his case, the panel explained. The government tried to reverse course nearly one year after it had officially said it would not seek the death penalty, but a federal court said this was too late.

The panel declined to grant Dangleben's other arguments.

Representatives for the Dangleben declined to comment on the case, and representatives for the government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

U.S. Circuit Judges Thomas Hardiman, Stephanos Bibas and David J. Porter sat on the panel for the Third Circuit.

The government is represented by William A. Glaser of the U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division and Adam F. Sleeper of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.

Dangleben is represented by Matthew A. Campbell of the Office of the Virgin Island Federal Public Defender, Aren K. Adjoian, Brett G. Sweitzer and Katherine C. Thompson of the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Allison F. Miller of the Law Office of Allison Ferber Miller.

The case is U.S. v. Richardson Dangleben Jr., case numbers 25-2807 and 25-2916, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

--Editing by Rich Mills.

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