Shot Co-Owner Who Aided Brother
A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the October 2010 shooting death of a Laurelton bodega owner who was killed while trying to protect his brother during a robbery, it was announced.
He was identified by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown as Shawn Forde, 29, of 229th Street in Laurelton. Forde, who has been held in jail since his Oct. 31, 2010 arraignment, was sentenced last Friday, May 11, to a determinate term of 15 years in prison by Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter.
Forde pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter last month.
“This is a sad and tragic case in which a hardworking family man was killed in a senseless manner,” Brown said in a statement last Friday. “With his guilty plea, [Forde] has taken responsibility for his actions and thus spared the victim’s family the anguish of a trial. Today’s sentence is a significant one and will hopefully bring solace to the victim’s family.”
According to the criminal charges, Forde entered the Lucky Deli, located at 220-26 Merrick Blvd., at approximately 9:50 p.m., on Oct. 23, 2010, and displayed a 45- caliber pistol. He then grabbed the deli’s co-owner, who was behind the cash register, and slammed his head onto the counter demanding money.
Immediately after the co-owner handed Forde money from the cash register, his brother-Juan Torres, 54, who was in the back of the store- came to his aid and was fatally shot once in the head by Forde, who then fled the scene.
Assistant District Attorney Karen Ross of the District Attorney’s Homicide Trials Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brad A. Leventhal, bureau chief, and Jack Warsawsky, deputy bureau chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.
