Feb. 22, 2008 — Basheem Camal Ford, 18, charged with gunning down veteran Police Officer Ariel Frett, 52, in February 2007, was transferred Tuesday to the Golden Grove Correctional Facility on St. Croix where he was detained pending trial.
Arrested shortly after the shooting occurred in St. Thomas's Hospital Ground area, Ford had previously been held at the island's Youth Rehabilitation Center (YRC). A minor at the time of his initial arrest on Feb. 8, 2007, Ford's YRC records have not been made public.
In late January — after Ford turned 18 — a warrant for Ford's arrest was issued by V.I. Superior Court Judge James S. Carroll. Charges on the warrant include first-degree murder, second-degree murder, aiding and abetting, first degree assault and voluntary manslaughter.
According to a police press release sent Thursday evening, Ford will be tried as an adult for the murder.
In an affidavit included in Ford's case file, Police Corporal Mario Stout said that witnesses in the area at the time the incident occurred subsequently identified Ford as Frett's killer.
"The witnesses stated that they observed the deceased, Ariel Frett, chasing a minor — 'B.F.' — with a wooden stick on Prindsens Gade, locally known as Goat Street," Stout wrote. "A witness stated that he observed the minor running backwards and firing shots at Ariel Frett."
Witnesses also observed Ford's brother, Jermaine Parris, become involved in a struggle with Frett after telling Ford to leave the scene. Parris has also been charged with aiding and abetting voluntary manslaughter, third-degree assault and possession a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. He has been released on an unsecured $50,000 bond.
Another witness — an off-duty police officer — was also interviewed for Stout's report, and stated that he heard a gunshot while driving near Lionel Roberts Stadium around 1:29 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2007.
The officer said he saw "several persons standing around" while Parris and Frett were fighting. After Frett had fallen to the ground, the officer observed Ford fire several shots into Frett's body, Stout wrote.
"The witness stated that he shouted, 'Police! Drop the gun! Drop the gun!" but the individual — later identified as the minor B.F. — continued shooting at the person who was on the ground."
When Ford subsequently began running away from the scene, the off-duty officer followed.
"The witness stated that B.F. turned towards him and pointed the gun at him," Stout wrote. "The witness stated that he fired several shots at B.F., striking him about the body and causing him to fall to the ground on Prindsens Gade."
Ford was treated for his injuries at Schneider Regional Medical Center, and turned himself in to police shortly after 8 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2007. (See "Police Arrest Second Suspect in Frett Murder.")
Frett was later transported to the Schneider Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room. A medical examiner concluded that Frett died of multiple gunshot wounds to the body.
Ford is expected to be arraigned on St. Thomas on Feb. 28.

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