Leozardise Casanova, 17, was transferred Wednesday from the Youth Rehabilitation Center to the Golden Grove Adult Correctional facility to stand trial as an adult for attempted murder.
The charges stem from a Thanksgiving Day incident last year. According to St. Croix police, Casanova started a fight with an adult male while in the vicinity of Estate Richmond. During the altercation Casanova is alleged to have displayed a small handgun and shot the victim, wounding him in his hip.
At the time, Casanova was on a day pass from the center, where he had been incarcerated since January 2010 for allegedly breaking into a vehicle parked in Christiansted and removing a licensed handgun and other items. Police arrested him shortly after the robbery when they discovered the stolen firearm tucked in his waistband. He was 16 at the time and sentenced to remain at the centre until his 18th birthday.
Following the shooting at Estate Richmond, Casanova was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, third-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, unauthorized possession of a firearm and discharging or aiming firearms.
The upgraded charges have landed the youth at the Adult Correctional facility on a $75,000 bail.
