Mugshot of Haysely Durand. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A man who reportedly beat his father with a stick before stealing his phone and car keys has been ordered to undergo psychological evaluation by the court.
Last Friday, police were dispatched to a residence in Castle Coakley in reference to an assault that had occurred just after midnight.
Upon arrival, officers met a man who told them that he had arrived home around 12:30 a.m., and as he exited his truck to open the gate to the garage, he saw his son Haysely Durand coming from between two pawpaw trees next to the house. Durand had something in his hands, his father said, and as he came closer he realized it was a stick.
According to court documents, Durand approached his father and reportedly began hitting him with the weapon, causing him to fall to the ground. His father told officers that he cried out to his son to stop, but the younger man ignored his parent’s pleas. Once his father had armed himself with a stone from among a pile that was on the ground, Durand reportedly grabbed the older man’s cell phone and key fob and ran up the street. The older man then called to his minor daughter for help.
Police spoke to the girl, who said that she was inside the residence when she heard a loud noise that sounded like quarreling. She went closer to the door and recognized her father’s voice calling out to her for help. She told officers that she opened the front door to see her father coming up the stairs, a red substance coming from his hands. The girl subsequently called 911 for assistance.
Officers on the scene noted a laceration to the father’s left hand, with a red substance on his hands, legs and shirt. The man’s left leg was also swollen. Emergency medical technicians rendered first aid on the scene before transporting him to the Juan F. Luis hospital for further treatment.
At the hospital, police spoke with a doctor who added road rash and a swollen left hip to the man’s list of injuries, and said that a scan would be needed to confirm that he had no broken bones. A wanted poster was subsequently issued for Durand.
On Tuesday of this week, Durand’s father told police that his son was in the downstairs apartment of the residence. He said that his daughter had tracked his cellphone to the apartment that his son occupied. The man told police that he, his wife and his daughter have all been in fear for his life since the assault, and that he has been unable to remain at home by himself.
Officers went to the apartment where Durand was, but he initially refused to come outside, locking the front door to prevent police from entering. Eventually, they were able to persuade him to exit the apartment, and he was then arrested. His father entered the apartment and spotted his key fob on a small table inside.
Halsey Durand denied the allegations, telling police that he was not at home on the night of the incident, but was instead at various business establishments from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. He said that he found his father’s key fob outside the residence.
Nevertheless, he was charged with third-degree assault as an act of domestic violence, and remanded into custody to await his first court appearance.
In court on Friday, Magistrate Yolan Brow-Ross noted defense counsel’s assertion that Durand has a history of mental illness, and ordered a psychological and psychiatric evaluation be conducted, in part to determine whether he is competent to stand trial. The Division of Behavioral Health was also ordered to prepare a long-term treatment plan if the evaluation reports suggest that such would be necessary. The results of the evaluation could also trigger petitions for involuntary commitment, as ordered by the court.
An update on Durand’s matter will be heard during a status conference scheduled for November 8.
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