CHARLOTTE AMALIE — When Omarie Smith allegedly tried to shoot and kill Hyram Graneau in Smith Bay on Saturday morning, it is unknown if he knew that his target was a wanted fugitive from justice in Florida.
What is known is that 30-year-old Hyram Graneau is one of four men allegedly wanted for a murder-robbery in Orlando ten years ago.
And that Hyram Graneau, of Lower John Dunkoe, was a victim of a shooting near Smith Bay this past weekend, according to the Virgin Islands Police Department.
And that Hyram Graneau’s father is either a current or former member of the VIPD.
“It was revealed that Mr. Graneau had an active warrant in Florida requiring full extradition,” the VIPD said on Twitter this morning. “On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, Mr. Graneau was arrested and is awaiting extradition to Florida.”
Police said Hyram Graneau was arrested at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday “pursuant to an outstanding fugitive from J\justice warrant.”
“Investigation into another matter revealed that Graneau has an active warrant for his arrest in the state of Florida, for violation of probation, requiring full extradition,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said.
Bail for Graneau was set at $75,000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections pending an extradition hearing.
Meanwhile, Hyram Graneau was also arrested in St. Thomas by the VIPD’s Special Operations Bureau on January 1, 2009 for “possession of ammunition” and a “handgun nearby.”
What became of the case is a source of some speculation on social media at the time because Graneau’s father was apparently a Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) officer.
Also, how does a wanted fugitive from justice co-exist with his father a police officer on St. Thomas for 10 years and not be reported to the authorities in Florida?
Former St. Thomas-St. John Police Chief Rodney Querrard, Sr. said in 2009 on the VIPD’s own website that “an investigation is continuing in this case.”
Derima did not immediately return a request for comment on this breaking news story.
All individuals listed as arrested or charged with a crime in this news article are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.