CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Croix man arrested by police for allegedly firing a gun near a La Grande Princesse nightclub in November has been indicted by the federal government on illegal gun charges, authorities said.
Mario Felix, 29, has been charged with felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition and possession of a firearm within a school zone according to a federal indictment returned on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
Felix will be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Golden Rock on January 27, Shappert said.
According to the indictment, on November 3, 2019, Felix, a convicted felon, possessed a firearm and ammunition and did so while in the vicinity of the Alternative Education School.
The incident allegedly involving Felix occurred at about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday November 3 when residents reported 10 to 12 gunshots fired in La Grande Princesse in the area of Five Corners, on the road between Starlight Lounge Bar & Nightclub and Food Town Supermarket, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case is being investigated by the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry.
An indictment is merely a formal charging document, and it is not in and of itself evidence of guilt, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the U.S. Virgin Islands said.
“Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” Shappert said.