ST. CROIX — Bail has been set for a man who admitted to firing a gunshot at a housing complex.

Calvin Parker was arrested on Friday night after officers on mobile patrol overheard what appeared to be a single gunshot from the direction of the Paradise Mills Housing apartments in Frederiksted. According to the probable cause fact sheet, police traveled to the area where they observed three unknown men behind the first row of buildings on the western side. While approaching the area where they believed the gunshot was fired, they noticed a woman attempting to walk towards the back of the building and they instructed her to go back inside her apartment for her own safety. The officers then proceeded to where they saw the three men and instructed them to get down on the ground with their hands visible. All three men complied.

The officers observed a small handgun on the ground near one of the men later identified as Calvin Parker. Parker and the other two individuals, one of whom was identified as a minor, were all handcuffed and detained after they admitted that none of them had a license for the firearm.

When questioned about the gunshot, Parker reportedly told the officers, “I fired a blank shot with a hammer.” However, according to the fact sheet, he was unable to present the hammer. The weapon on the ground was later identified as a .25 caliber Lorcin pistol with two live rounds in the magazine. A spent casing was also discovered in the area. According to police, while at the police station Parker admitted to firing a single shot in the air and was charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, unauthorized possession of ammunition, reckless endangerment, and discharging a firearm.

At his advisement hearing on Monday, it was revealed that Parker has no prior criminal history. Attorney Hannibal O’Bryan asked the judge to consider that the defendant is indigent and that no one was harmed during the incident. O’Bryan further asserted that there was nothing to suggest that Parker was a flight risk or a danger to the community. However, the judge affirmed that she was indeed concerned for the safety of the community given the nature of the charges. Parker’s bail was therefore set at $50,000 and he and his court-approved third-party custodian will both be required to sign an unsecured bond for the full amount. Given the judge’s concern for the community, upon his release, Parker will be placed on a 24-hour house arrest without electronic monitoring. He has also been ordered to surrender his passport to the court.

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