The 15-year-old charged in the June 5 shooting death of St. Croix comedian Jordan “Dutty Heart” Jones has been identified by authorities as Angelo Javier Carmona after he was bound over to criminal court Wednesday to be treated as an adult.
Following the transfer hearing in the Family Court division, Carmona was arrested Friday by the V.I. Police Department’s Major Crime Unit and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, third-degree assault, reckless endangerment, first-degree robbery, unauthorized possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, and possession of ammunition, according to a press release the VIPD issued Friday night.
Carmona’s bail was set at $500,000 and, unable to post the amount, he was remanded to the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility on St. Croix pending his advice of rights hearing Monday in V.I. Superior Court, according to the VIPD.
While an initiating document/complaint has been filed on the Superior Court docket, presumably detailing the particulars of Carmona’s alleged crime, it remained sealed to public view as of Saturday morning.
According to previous police reports, Jones was on the Christiansted boardwalk around midday June 5 when he was accosted by Carmona in an apparent robbery attempt.
Accounts vary, but an eyewitness to the incident told the Source that Jones and a friend were at a bar on the boardwalk around 12:30 p.m. that day when they noticed a young man standing in the doorway for about 10 minutes, just staring, which prompted the friend to get a knife from the kitchen because he found the behavior to be suspicious.
Jones, who was wearing a gold chain, was suddenly under attack. The friend tried to stab the shooter in defense of Jones but was also shot, according to the eyewitness, who asked not to be named due to safety concerns. The shooter ran away with Jones’s gold chain visible in his hand, he said.
Jones, 38, was shot multiple times and later succumbed to his injuries at Juan F. Luis Hospital, according to the police. His companion suffered a graze wound, they said.
Just hours after the midday shooting, the VIPD announced it had arrested a 15-year-old boy who was remanded to the Youth Rehabilitation Center pending a court hearing.
Jones’s death marked the 14th homicide this year in the territory, and the eighth on St. Croix, according to the Source Homicide List.* There have since been five more fatal shootings, prompting widespread community concern about escalating violence in the territory.
Our Town Frederiksted will honor Jones with a July 4th fireworks display in his memory in the town where he grew up. One minute after the conclusion of the main fireworks show, VI Pyro will launch the largest shell in their inventory, with Jordan’s ashes attached, the group said in a press release.
“As the shell bursts high above the Caribbean Sea, his remains will be spread over the waters that shaped his childhood, serving as a final and fitting goodbye,” it said.
The July 4th celebration is free and open to the public. Community members are welcome to gather with respect and support as Frederiksted says farewell to one of its own.
