Relatives of murdered Laventille man: "It was a set up"

RELATIVES of murdered 22-year-old tyre repairman Jerome Alexander believe he may have been set up by friends who called him to his death in Trou Macaque last weekend.

Alexander, from Pashley Street, Laventille, was shot dead on Sunday near Harlem, Laventille, just after 2 pm.

Alexander's family told Newsday yesterday while awaiting the results of an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre (FSC) in St James that before his death he was called out by a male and female friend to lime.

"He had a scooter which he would ride on weekends, and he was driving it in the area on Sunday afternoon," said a relative, who did not want to be identified. "I realised he wasn't around for a while. Then I got a call saying that he had been shot."

Relatives were told that Alexander took the scooter, went to a street near Harlem and was liming with friends when gunmen approached and shot him multiple times.

Although police have not determined a motive, relatives were told that because of an ongoing conflict between rival gangs, residents of Pashley Street were "not allowed" to venture into Harlem and environs. His family said he had been in the area a few times before, but neither he nor they would normally venture there.

Relatives described him as a hardworking person.

"He works hard for everything that he wants. And if he cannot afford it, he would come to me," said his mother. "He had several plans. He wanted to buy a van to start his own business.

"But all of that is over now."