CHRISTIANSTED — A former police officer was arrest on an “assault” charge after video surveillance footage captured him firing shots at a neighbor in Estate St. John on St. Croix on Christmas Eve day morning, authorities said.
Yahya K. Daniel, 46, of Estate St. John, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, the Virgin Islands Police Department said in a prepared statement.
On December 24, 2025, at approximately 8:27 a.m., the 911 Emergency Call Center received reports of shots being fired in the Estate St. John residential area. 911 received a telephone call from the victim who stated that his neighbor, Yahya Daniel, fired shots at him, according to the VIPD.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Bureau were assigned to investigate the complaint, police said.
Investigators found, on the day in question, that Daniel was cutting grass on the boundary between his fence line and the victim’s, according to police.
Then the victim approached Daniel, allegedly throwing a small stone from a gravel path in his direction causing Daniel to stop cutting his grass, police said.
The victim then bent down and picked up another small stone, throwing the piece of gravel at Daniel, striking him, according to police.
“Daniel then drew his licensed firearm and fired two shots at the victim,” police said in the prepared statement.
Surveillance footage was obtained of the incident that shows the incidents occurred as described, according to police.
Daniel was advised of his Miranda Rights, booked and processed. His bail was set at $100,000.00.
The former police officer then secured his release “with the clearance of the Honorable Judge of the Superior Court,” police wrote in the prepared statement.
Daniel was ordered to post $200.00 of the bail, relinquish all firearms, and to reside with a third-party custodian under house arrest, police added.
The suspect was scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing at the Superior Court in Estate Kingshill this morning.
VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte declined this morning to relate the dates that Daniel worked for the Virgin Islands Police Department.
