2nd accused in murder of Sophia bread vendor walks free

Neville Forte, who had spent five years on remand on a charge of murdering Sophia, Greater Georgetown bread vendor Andre Melroy Alexander, walked free on Tuesday after a mixed 12-member jury found him not guilty of the capital offence.
Presiding Judge Jo-Ann Barlow had summed up the evidence in the case on Tuesday morning. The jurors, after deliberating for a little over two hours, returned a unanimous not-guilty verdict.

Forte, during his arraignment earlier this month, had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged that he murdered Alexander, a father of two, on May 5, 2017 during a robbery.
He was represented by Attorneys-at-Law Ronald Daniels and Kiswana Jefford.
Alexander, formerly of “C” Field Sophia, was shot dead by two motorcycle bandits.
The robbers fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The 42-year-old father of two was reportedly shot once to the chest, and succumbed while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).

It was reported that the now dead man and his wife were in their shop when the two men approached on a motorcycle and requested three loaves of bread.
The pillion rider took out a $5000 bill to pay, and while Alexander was in the process of making change, the pillion rider whipped out a gun and demanded cash.
Upon seeing this, the man’s wife ran towards their home, which is a stone’s throw away, and raised an alarm. However, her husband refused to cooperate, and the men grabbed the money he had in his hand and discharged several rounds in the process.
One of the bullets reportedly struck the bread vendor in the chest. Upon realising that the man was shot, the two young men escaped on the motorcycle.
In 2019, Forte’s co-accused, Shaquille Grant, called “Soldier Man”, was freed after Justice Navindra Singh upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf by his lawyer.