A MIXED 12-member jury was, on Tuesday, empanelled before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, at the Demerara High Court, for the retrial of Neville Forde, who is accused of murdering Sophia bread vendor, Andre Melroy Alexander, in 2017.

Forde pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that, on May 5, 2017, in the County of Demerara, he murdered Alexander in the course or furtherance of a robbery.

The trial is expected to commence on Monday, June 27, 2022.

In 2019, Forde was tried for the capital offence alongside former co-accused Shaquelle Grant called ‘Soldier Man,’ before Justice Navindra Singh.

However, Grant was freed after the judge upheld a no-case submission in his favour. The jury was unable to arrive at a verdict against Forde.

Reports are that, on the said date, Alexander was at his bread stand at Dennis Street, Sophia, when two men rode up on a motorcycle. The pillion rider requested three loaves of bread and paid with a $5,000 note.

While Alexander was in the process of making the change, the same pillion rider whipped out a gun and demanded cash.

When the man put up a fight, the robber discharged two rounds, one of which struck him (Alexander) in the stomach.

The robbers relieved Alexander of his cash and also escaped with the three loaves of bread. Alexander died the very night during surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.