CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Virgin Islands Police have charged a second person in connection to a fatal shootout at the Havensight Pier on St. Thomas in October.
Suzan N. Asad, 36, of Paul M. Pearson Garden, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Asad was arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant that was issued by the magistrate of the Superior Court, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Suzan N. Asad, 36, of Paul M. Pearson Garden in St. Thomas.
Rashawn Jackson, 20, of St. Croix, was arrested on November 22 and originally charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the October 21 shooting death of 31-year-old Cursim Hansen near the Havensight Pier, police said.
Bail for Asad was set to $125,000.00 by order of the court. She is scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court.
The case began at 1 a.m. on October 21, when police responded to a report of gunshots “being fired in the area of Pier 22 Bar and Restaurant, Havensight Mall,” court records indicate.
Detectives traveled to the bar and found a man lying dead in the parking lot, later identified as Hansen.
Security personnel told police there “was a physical altercation between the victim and several males inside Pier 22 Bar and Restaurant,” and the fight spilled out into the parking lot, according to the sworn police affidavit.
Witnesses told police Jackson and Hansen retrieved firearms from their vehicles, and there was an exchange of multiple gunshots.
VIPD mugshot of Rashawn Jackson, 20, of St. Croix.
Officers from the Special Operations Bureau that had been in the area heard the gunfire and stopped a black Toyota Camry that was speeding from the area.
As they were talking to the driver, they saw a man later identified as Jackson running toward the area of Tap and Still restaurant, according to the VIPD affidavit.
Jackson was detained while police retrieved surveillance footage, and investigators watched the scene unfold on video.
A man, later identified as Jackson, went to a black Ford F-150 truck while Hansen went to his vehicle, and Hansen walked back to the middle of the parking lot and fired gunshots in the direction of the truck, according to the police affidavit.
The victim turned and fell to the ground after apparently being struck by gunfire, police said.
The man, later identified as Jackson, got out of the truck and ran over to the victim, and “continues to fire gunshots into the victim’s body, then he picks up the victim’s gun, and uses it to fire more gunshots into the victim’s body,” according to the affidavit.
Jackson then got into a black Toyota Camry with a woman “and they speed away from the crime scene,” police said.
At 3:15 a.m., detectives interviewed Jackson at the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Jackson told police he was in the Havensight area with friends “and there was an altercation close to where he was, but he does not want to say anything else,” according to the affidavit.
Jackson was interviewed about two hours after the shooting, and detectives saw “what appeared to be blood on Jackson’s shirt and shoes,” according to the affidavit.
“At that time, Detectives could not make a positive identification that Jackson is the same individual who was observed on surveillance video,” according to police. “Jackson was free to leave pending further investigation.”
At 7:10 a.m., police went back to Havensight to find more surveillance cameras, and additional footage “shows Jackson running from the area of the crime scene towards the rear of the public restrooms, in the vicinity of gates (4) and (6) on the pier of WICO Dock,” according to the affidavit.
Detectives searched the area and found two firearms, a Glock .40 caliber and a Glock .45 caliber “located on the ground on a concrete slab.”
While police continued investigating, Jackson was arrested on November 17 after leading officers on a high-speed chase on St. Croix, according to a news release issued by police on November 20.
Officers on patrol in the Peter’s Rest area saw a black Acura TSX with illegal window tint and no front license plate, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the area of Quality Electric parking lot.
The driver led officers “on a high-speed chase that came to an end in the area of Home Depot. A search of the vehicle was conducted, where a Glock handgun with an extended loaded 15 round magazine inserted in the magazine well, an additional 13 round magazine were all recovered from inside the vehicle,” according to police.
Jackson was charged with carrying a firearm openly or concealed, and possession or sale of ammunition.
Bail was set at $50,000, and a judge on St. Croix allowed Jackson to be released to a third-party custodian after posting $500 cash.
Court records show police obtained a warrant for Jackson’s arrest in the Havensight shooting on November 21, and arrested him in that case on November 22. Jackson is charged with voluntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, destruction of evidence, possession of stolen property, possession of ammunition, and reckless endangerment.
Bail in that case was set at $250,000 cash, according to court records.
Anyone having any information about this incident can contact the Virgin Islands Police Department at 340-774-2211, the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division at 340-642-8449 or USVI Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.