Mugshot of Angelo Javier Carmona. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A last-minute plea agreement has eliminated the first-degree murder trial scheduled to begin Monday for Angelo Javier Carmona in the killing of Jordan “Dutty Heart” Jones, with Carmona instead pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and possession of ammunition and now awaiting sentencing on October 13.
During a hearing Friday, Carmona formally changed his pleas on two of the nine counts against him. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser-included offense of the first-degree murder charge he had been facing, and also admitted guilt to possession of ammunition.
Under the agreement, the remaining charges against Carmona — including assault, reckless endangerment, robbery and unauthorized possession of a firearm — will be dismissed.
The plea brings a major turn in a case that began with the broad-daylight killing of one of St. Croix’s better-known entertainers on June 5, 2025. Jones, 38, was widely known as “Dutty Heart,” building an audience through comedy, music and cultural commentary rooted in Virgin Islands life. VIC reported at the time that the shooting occurred at approximately 12:52 p.m. near The Mill on the Christiansted Boardwalk.
Police said a confrontation occurred after a male approached Jones and another man. Gunfire followed, leaving Jones with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Juan F. Luis Hospital, where he died. The second man survived his injuries.
The killing reverberated across St. Croix because of both Jones’s prominence and the setting: a busy public waterfront in the middle of the day. Jones had developed a following through comedic skits and performances centered on Caribbean and Virgin Islands culture, and his death prompted widespread mourning across the territory.
Carmona, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, was taken into custody the same day following an investigation that included surveillance review, witness interviews and information provided by members of the community. He was initially held at the Youth Rehabilitation Center.
The V.I. Department of Justice subsequently sought to have the case moved out of juvenile jurisdiction. Following a June 25, 2025 transfer hearing, Superior Court granted that request, clearing the way for Carmona to be prosecuted as an adult on a slate of felony charges that included first-degree murder, robbery, assault, reckless endangerment and firearm offenses.
Two days later, VIPD publicly identified Carmona and arrested him on an adult warrant. Bail was set at $500,000, and after he was unable to post that amount, he was transported to the John Bell Adult Correctional Facility.
The case remained pending into 2026. In its St. Croix crime recap earlier this year, VIPD continued to list Carmona as awaiting trial in the Jones homicide, one of the two 2025 St. Croix homicide investigations that police said had resulted in arrests.
That trial was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday before the plea agreement changed the course of the prosecution.
On the voluntary manslaughter conviction, Carmona faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The possession-of-ammunition conviction carries a potential sentence of up to seven years. The plea information provided does not establish how the court will structure any sentences ultimately imposed.
Superior Court Judge Venetia Velazquez has scheduled sentencing for October 13.
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