FREDERIKSTED — Two men were arrested after a gun-butting incident and related shooting in Smithfield on St. Croix two months ago.
Francisco Navarro, 34, and Waldemal Carrion, 29, were arrested and charged based on arrest warrants in connection to Operation “Top Shottas, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began on November 29, 2023, when a 911 dispatcher got a report of shots fired in Estate Smithfield in Frederiksted, according to the VIPD.
VIPD mug shot of Waldemal Carrion, 29, of St. Croix.
Responding detectives canvassed the area and found shell casings on the roadway, police said.
The victim reported to the detectives that he was beaten with a firearm and shots were discharged by Francisco Navarro and Waldemal Carrion, according to police.
Members of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Special Operations Bureau, K9 Unit, and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency executed Operation: “Top Shottas” where a search warrant was executed on Navarro and Carrion’s residence today, VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
VIPD mug shot of Francisco Navarro, 34, of St. Croix.
“During this search a firearm and ammunition were found in Waldemal Carrion’s personal effects,” Chichester said. “Both men were arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant,”
However, Carrion was additionally charged with illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition, according to Chichester.
Bail for Navarro and Carrion was set at $50,000.00 each. Unable to post bail, they were remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the Golden Grove prison.
Each man is scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court tomorrow.