Shaquille Grant was yesterday morning discharged of the 2017 murder of Sophia bread vendor Andre Melroy Alexander, after Justice Navindra Singh upheld a no-case submission made by his attorney.
Neville Forde, who was also charged with the capital offence is, however, likely to know his fate later this afternoon when a jury deliberates on the case levelled against him.
Last Friday, Grant’s attorney, Nigel Hughes, argued that his client had no case to answer, owing to what he described as a number of material inconsistencies presented against him by the prosecution’s key witness.
Delivering his ruling to the arguments advanced by Hughes, the judge inform-ed that the no-case submission would be upheld, and resultantly directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not-guilty in Grant’s favour.
With the judge’s announcement that Grant was discharged and therefore free to go, the young man’s many relatives seated in the courtroom could not contain their joy as they ran to hug him.
Prosecutor Teriq Mohammed has since informed that the state will be appealing the case.
The 12-member panel is, however, set to deliberate on the case against Forde later today, following Justice Singh’s summation, which is scheduled to commence at 10 this morning.
Leading his defence in unsworn testimony from the prisoner’s dock, the accused professed his innocence, stating that he has no knowledge of the crime, while adding that he was never at the scene either.
“I am in jail suffering for something I don’t know anything about,” Forde told the court.
Forde is being represented by attorney Adrian Thompson.
Alexander, known as ‘Alex’ and ‘Bread Man,’ 42, a father of two of Lot 394 Section C, Sophia, succumbed at the George-town Public Hospital hours after he was shot once in his stomach by one of two bandits, who posed as customers and held him at gunpoint.
