The man who allegedly exchanged shots with an off-duty police officer while attempting to rob him on Feb. 16 appeared in Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

 

Matthew Hazel, 23, of Paraquita Bay, faces charges of attempted murder, attempted robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of explosives.

Mr. Hazel sat in the defendant’s box with his left arm in a sling and a bandage on his head as Crown Counsel Chantal Flax-Ward read the allegations against him.

According to Ms. Flax-Ward, Royal Virgin Islands Police Force Sergeant Durville Carty was depositing cash from One Mart’s earnings for the day at the FirstCaribbean International Bank when a man approached him wielding a firearm.

The man, wearing a mask from the film Scary Movie, allegedly pointed his gun at Mr. Carty’s head and fired a round that missed the officer.

Mr. Hazel, who was a receptionist for FirstCaribbean International Bank before the incident, then allegedly demanded the money from Mr. Carty, and fired another shot at him when the officer asked him what money he was referring to.

Mr. Carty then told him that the money was in his car, Ms. Flax-Ward said.

Gunfight

The defendant searched the car to no avail, and then turned to the complainant again with his weapon drawn, she said.

But by this time, Mr. Carty, the RVIPF’s firearms instructor, had his weapon drawn, too, the prosecutor said.

The officer reportedly shot at the gunman, who then started to flee.

Ms. Flax-Ward said Mr. Carty pursued the man, yelling, “Armed police: Stop!”

The defendant reached the Palm Grove building, where he turned and fired again, according to the prosecutor. Mr. Carty returned fire, she said.

The defendant then allegedly stumbled and fell, but after removing his mask he kept running.

When he reached a lit area, he turned around to shoot at Mr. Carty again, and in that moment the officer was able to identify him as Mr. Hazel, Ms. Flax-Ward said.

The defendant escaped, but his mask, a revolver, and several rounds of ammunition were recovered from the scene, according to the prosecutor.

Mr. Hazel later checked himself in to Peebles Hospital with alleged gunshot wounds.

On Feb. 18, he was arrested, eventually being discharged from the hospital on Feb. 24.

Defence

Mr. Hazel’s attorney, Valerie Gordon-Stephens, admitted that her client was in the area on the night of the incident, saying that he was planning to withdraw money from a FirstCaribbean ATM.

She said Mr. Hazel heard shots being fired and turned to run. He was shot while fleeing, she explained.

“My instructions are that he didn’t have a gun or a mask, nor did he try to rob anyone,” Ms. Gordon-Stephens said.

Before he was shot, the defendant was planning to buy some food and visit his girlfriend, she said.

The attorney is expected to make an application for bail after receiving police statements next week, the attorney said, adding that her client still requires medical attention.

Mr. Hazel still has a bullet lodged in his shoulder, she explained, and he has to be transported to Peebles Hospital every other day to have his bandages changed.

The defendant’s next court date is April 24.