March 23, 2001 — District Court Judge Thomas K. Moore ruled Thursday that the first-degree murder case against DeShaune Harrigan will proceed on St. Croix and that prosecutors were within their discretion in having charges dismissed in Territorial Court and refiling in District Court.
Harrigan is accused in the May 2000 shooting of 18-year-old Jason Carroll in downtown Charlotte Amalie.
Harrigan attorney Michael Joseph had argued that government attorneys wanted to move the case to District Court to get a better chance at conviction and more harsh penalties — a "home-court advantage," he said. He said the case should be dropped when the charges against his client were dismissed with prejudice in Territorial Court, which would bar re-prosecution in another court.
But prosecutor Guy Mitchell said the dismissal with prejudice merely barred bringing the same charges again in Territorial Court.
Moore ruled that bringing the case to District Court was not prejudicial to the defendant and that prosecutors did not abuse their discretion in doing so. He also recused himself from the case because of his relationship with the victim's father, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Carroll.
