Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man who was active in an anti-gun violence group has been indicted for fatally shooting a man in August 2020.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly fatally shot a man last August, contributing to a wave of gun violence our borough suffered during the summer of 2020. This defendant was part of a Bronx anti-violence group and was very active in the community. He attended anti-gun violence rallies and marches and visited NYPD Precincts to talk about his network. Now in tragic irony he stands charged with murder. I consider these anti-gun violence groups in the Bronx vital stakeholders in the fight against the gun scourge, and their good work should not be tarnished by this alleged crime.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Mervin Joseph Moore, 37, of 1189 Sheridan Avenue, was arraigned today on second-degree Murder, first-degree Manslaughter and two counts of second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Michael Gross. Remand was continued and the defendant is due back in court on April 28, 2021.
According to the investigation, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on August 1, 2020, the defendant spotted the victim, Forest Byrd III, 34, at a party in a courtyard at 1166 Burke Avenue. The defendant allegedly went inside a building and returned to the gathering and fired multiple shots at Byrd, striking him in the chest, back and arm. The victim was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after. The defendant, who had been active with Jacobi Medical Center’s Stand Up to Violence (SUV) group, fled and was arrested on December 24, 2020. The motive for the shooting is unclear.
District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Anthony
Velez of Bronx Homicide and Enmanuel Gomez of the 49 Precinct.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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