ST. JOHN — A man is facing charges for reportedly shooting at another man from a moving vehicle and then trying to flee the territory.
According to court documents, on Friday morning, a man reported to the Leander Jurgen Command police station in Cruz Bay to file a report against Ezius Ashly.
The man said that he was at a gas station getting breakfast when he heard someone remark on how easy it would be for him to die. The man said that he saw Ashly in some nearby bushes, pointing a gun at him.
Uncomfortable, the man said he called Ashly a clown and decided to leave the area in his vehicle and head to work. However, Ashly reportedly pulled out in front of him and started driving slowly.
The man told police that he tried passing several times only to be blocked by Ashly swerving out in front of him. However, on one occasion he got the chance to overtake, and did so. While his vehicle was passing Ashly’s, the man said he heard a shot or two being fired. A bullet hole appeared in his driver’s side door. The man said he felt a burning sensation near his upper thigh and thought at first that he had been shot.
He headed straight to the police station. When he got there, he found out that he was not bleeding, although his pants had a hole in the same area.
Police say a bullet entered the man’s car through the driver’s side door, passed through the center console and came to rest in the front passenger seat.
Officers say they were alerted that Ashly was heading towards the Cyril E. King Airport with the intention of boarding a flight out of the territory, and requested that Customs and Border Protection officials detain him.
Ashly was detained at the airport on Friday afternoon and subsequently charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, carrying or using a dangerous weapon by a convicted felon, reckless endangerment, willful discharge of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Unable to pay the initial bail assessment of $125,000, he was remanded into custody to await his advice of rights hearing.
In court on Saturday, Magistrate Simone VanHolten-Turnbull found probable cause to uphold all charges against Ashly. The judge ruled that $100,000 of the bail amount is due in cash, with the remaining sum as an unsecured bond. If Ashly can meet the bail requirement, he will have to report to the probation office twice a week in person with a daily curfew of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays, and 24 hours on weekends.
The next court hearing for Ashly is scheduled for June 20.
British Caribbean News
