Mugshot of Hyram Graneau Jr. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — The suspect identified from surveillance footage from a June 5 shooting in American Yacht Harbor has been returned to the territory to face charges of attempted murder, assault, and attempted robbery.
According to court documents, on the night of June 5, police officers were dispatched to American Yacht Harbor to investigate reports of a shooting. By the time law enforcement personnel arrived, witnesses told them that the suspects had fled the area in a white Jeep Liberty which had a broken taillight on the driver’s side. The investigating officers knew that a vehicle of the same color, make and model had been involved in a hit and run incident earlier that evening. That white Jeep Liberty also had a broken taillight on the left side.
While patrol officers searched for the Jeep, detectives went to speak with the shooting victim at the hospital. He told them that he was outside a restaurant in Red Hook when three masked men dressed in dark clothing tried to rob him. During the attack, the man said he fell to the ground, and three gunshots were fired. He believes that he was grazed at least twice by the bullets, and suffered injuries to his head as a result.
Investigators returned to the scene to view footage from the establishment’s surveillance cameras, which had captured the incident as it unfolded. One of the assailants was known to police, who identified him as Hyram Graneau Jr. Officers saw Graneau having a conversation with the victim before walking away, then returning to continue the conversation before once again walking away. The victim can then be seen walking to a different spot in the establishment, before Graneau comes around the corner and throws his left hand over the man’s shoulder.
Graneau is reportedly then shown pulling a handgun from his waistline and pointing it at the other man’s lower torso, while pulling his victim away to the northeast portion of the establishment. Two other men are then showed emerging from behind a wall. The four men engage in a physical struggle, during which police say the footage showed Grandau fire three shots at the target of the attack, which struck the man on the right side of his head. The three attackers then ran away out of frame, leaving the bleeding man on the ground.
One of the patrol officers that had been searching for the white Jeep Liberty radioed in to say that he saw a vehicle matching that description on the Tabor and Harmony roadway, but when officers tried to intercept it, the Jeep fled towards the Magens Junction Apartments. Officers in pursuit found the vehicle abandoned at the apartment complex. The occupants, who fled on foot, managed to evade capture by police. Among the items that they left behind, however, was a cell phone, to which Graneau had reportedly linked his Google account.
Police tracked down the owner of the Jeep Liberty, who at the time was under arrest for a separate incident. The Jeep’s owner told them that he had been in an auto collision several weeks ago and had asked Graneau, who fixes vehicles, to change the brakes. Graneau reportedly picked up the jeep from the man’s residence on the morning of June 5 and promised to return it the same day, once the requested work had been done. The man said he paid Graneau $500 for parts, labor, and the cost of a rental which he had arranged. Just after midnight, the man said Graneau called and asked him to meet at a particular business establishment to exchange vehicles. The mechanic never showed up, despite multiple calls from his client.
On June 18, police published a wanted poster for Graneau, and subsequently learned from Customs and Border Protection officials that he had fled the territory two days after the shooting. Detectives were able to speak with Graneau on the same day the poster was published, and advised him that he was wanted by police for assault. Graneau reportedly denied committing any assaults, claiming that there was no photographic evidence of any assault committed by him, or any such reports from people, after which he disconnected the call.
On August 20th, an arrest warrant was issued by Superior Court Magistrate Paula Norkaitis, and Graneau was eventually tracked down to Essex County, New Jersey, where he was arrested and waived his right to an extradition hearing. Graneau was returned to the Virgin Islands and appeared in court for his advice of rights hearing on Monday. He was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree robbery, possession or use of a firearm during a crime of violence, willful discharge or aiming of firearm with injury, and first-degree reckless endangerment.
Judge Norkaitis found probable cause to uphold all charges against Graneau, and ordered that bail be set at $100,000, payable in full. If he can meet this sum, and provide the court with a suitable third-party custodian, Graneau will be released from pre-trial detention but confined to 24-hour house arrest with electronic monitoring.
He will only be allowed to leave to attend court, meet with his attorney, or seek emergency medical treatment at the hospital. He will be required to surrender his passport and driver’s license, and must also abide by the usual prohibitions against possessing contraband or using controlled substances.
The next court appearance for Mr. Graneau is scheduled for October 11.
