Jan. 29, 2002 – A St. Thomas man accused of shooting 18-year-old Jason Carroll to death in broad daylight in an alley off Main Street in May 2000 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The plea came Monday after almost a year of legal maneuvering and on the first day of DeShaune Harrigan's scheduled trial in District Court, according to published and broadcast reports.
Harrigan, 26, had originally been charged with first-degree murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school and possession of a handgun during commission of a violent crime.
The second-degree murder plea will land Harrigan a minimum five-year jail sentence. Under terms of the plea agreement, Harrigan also pleaded guilty to using a .40 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number to shoot and kill Carroll, the son of assistant U.S. Attorney James Carroll.
Harrigan faces up to 15 years on the gun-possession conviction.
Harrigan shot Carroll twice -– once in the arm and once in the chest — after an altercation that authorities said stemmed from an incident that had taken place a year earlier at Magens Bay.
The day after the shooting, Harrigan was arrested and charged with the murder.
The venue for the trial was changed from St. Thomas to St. Croix and the case was removed from Territorial Court to District Court in what was at the time seen as a questionable move. (see "Harrigan trial to proceed on St. Croix".
Harrigan's attorney, Michael Joseph, is quoted by The V.I. Daily News as saying his client is extremely remorseful.
After the murder, community leaders and others expressed deep concern about the conditions that led to the senseless slaying, including the increasing use of handguns in the territory.
A recent report indicated the territory's homicide rate remains about five times the national average. (See "V.I. homicides five times national rate for 2001".)
