Man sought in shooting surrenders
Published: January 16, 2013
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ST. CROIX - A man that police had been seeking for more than a week in connection with a shooting turned himself in to authorities just before 4 a.m. Tuesday.
Police had issued a wanted poster on Monday for Steadroy Hurst, 25, of Work and Rest, who made his initial court appearance in V.I. Superior Court on Tuesday morning.
Magistrate Judge Miguel Camacho advised Hurst of his rights on charges of first-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a violent crime, unauthorized possession of a firearm, failure to report a firearm brought into the territory and possession of ammunition.
V.I. Police Detective Michael Simmonds said he was dispatched to the Work and Rest residential area just before 7 p.m. Jan. 8, and when he arrived, he found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Based on information gathered from the victim and others in the area, Simmonds wrote, Hurst and a family member were arguing outside the home earlier that day when Hurst began to threaten the man. The man told Hurst that Hurst could not do anything to him, and they went their separate ways, the victim told police.
The man said he and Hurst work together at a construction site, and in the evening when Hurst returned home, the argument began anew and Hurst again began threatened him.
The man said he told Hurst again that Hurst was not going to do anything to him, and Hurst responded by asking the man whether he wanted it now, according to Simmonds' affidavit. The man said Hurst took five steps back and then opened fire on him, according to Simmonds. The man said he fell to the ground, and Hurst ran from the area, Simmonds wrote.
Police initially had said that the man had been shot one time in his foot with a shotgun, but Simmonds said in his report that the man was taken by ambulance to Luis Hospital, where emergency room physicians said he was treated for a gunshot wound to his left thigh, arm and abdomen and underwent surgery that same night.
Police searched for Hurst since Jan. 8 and were unsuccessful. His picture was released to local media Monday, and hours later he surrendered to police.
Bail for Hurst initially was set at $100,000, but Assistant Attorney General Cornelius Evans asked that the bail be increased to $250,000.
Camacho granted the motion to increase the bail, agreeing that in addition to being a danger to the community charged with a serious crime, Hurst also should be considered a flight risk because he ran from the scene and remained on the lam for several days.
Camacho said that Hurst had failed to appear for a previous hearing in a 2009 case and faces revocation in that case, which stemmed from a third-degree assault.
Hurst remained jailed Tuesday, unable to meet the conditions of release set by the court.
- Contact reporter Fiona Stokes at 714-9149 or email fstokes@dailynews.vi.
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