A St. Thomas man facing murder charges must wait a little longer before he finds out if he will be released on bail.
Joseph Andrews, 18, has been jailed since Monday, when he was apprehended by Customs and Border Protections Officers at the airport. He is accused in the June 24 shooting death of Issachar T. Chinnery in Kronprindsens Gade near Club 75.
Andrews went before Magistrate Judge Alan D. Smith in Superior Court Thursday for a detention hearing and advice of rights.
Assistant Attorney General Claude Walker called Virgin Islands Police Major Crime Unit Detective Mario Stout to the stand. Stout told the judge that he and other officers used surveillance footage to identify Andrews at the club prior to the shooting. He said surveillance footage later captured Andrews opening fire on the two men who were shot outside the club. He said police also believe Andrews is linked to a car chase that ended in a crash shortly after the shooting. Police arrested three people after that chase, but, Stout said, police believe Andrews was able to flee the scene without getting caught.
Stout said that another detective was able to identify Andrews as the perpetrator of the crime because he had pursued him just a week before. The detective said that at the time, he believed Andrews had a gun on him by the way his pants sagged.
Several times as Walker questioned Stout, the judge stopped the proceedings, saying that Waker was not eliciting the right information from his witness.
“I need to get from this witness facts,” Smith said. “I’m not looking for conclusions.”
Also taking issue with some of the testimony was Andrews’ court-appointed attorney, Robert A. Leycock.
Leycock challenged Stout’s assertation that Andrews was linked to the car chase. He asked the detective if there was any evidence linking his client to the incident and Stout said no, but that some bullet casings have been sent to the FBI for evaluation.
Leycock challenged two witnesses Stout had cited in an affidavit. He said one witness only claimed to have heard shots at the club but didn’t know who fired them. The other witness was not able to correctly identify Andrews.
He also questioned the use of video to identify his client. He asked Stout what type of surveillance camera the club used. He asked, “Was it the grainy kind?”
Leycock said many young men wear baggy pants, but that doesn’t mean they are all carrying guns in them. He said that the footage didn’t show Andrews, but rather “shows an individual that looks like Mr. Andrews.”
“Thus far, do you have any physical evidence, any weapons that tied Mr. Andrews to the crime,” he asked Stout. Stout answered that he had the surveillance footage.
After advising Andrews of his rights, Smith said he would make his decision regarding whether Andrews would be released on bail before his July 16 arraignment.
Andrews could face first degree murder, second degree murder and unauthorized use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. If he is found guilty of first degree murder, he could face life in prison without parole.
