A Fulton County grand jury has indicted the three men accused in the armed robbery and murder of professional boxer Vernon Forrest.
Charman Sinkfield, 30; Demario Ware, 20; and 25-year-old Jquante Crews were each charged Tuesday in a 10-count indictment with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr.
Howard said he intends to seek the death penalty for each man.
Forrest, 38, died July 25 after he was robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in Southwest Atlanta. Forrest pursued the robber, believed to be Demario Ware, and then was shot seven times in the back by Sinkfield, according to the press release.
Crews is believed to have driven the getaway car, Howard said.
A $17,000 reward is being offered for Forrest’s Rolex watch and championship ring stolen during the robbery. The watch has a black leather band with diamonds and his name and four “x’s” are engraved in the ring.
Howard said on Monday that he would press for the death sentence for all three men -- even though police identified only Sinkfield as the triggerman -- to send a message to would-be violent criminals.
“When you kill somebody in Fulton County in such a senseless and brutal way, the system ... is going to hold you accountable,” he said. “I mean, this guy was shot seven or eight times in the back. Three times, we believe, he was laying on the ground.”
Forrest’s family visited Howard on Monday afternoon to discuss his indictment plans.
After the meeting, the family and Atlanta police announced a reward, funded partially by Crime Stoppers, for the return of the items taken from the boxer the night he was shot to death, including Forrest’s watch and championship ring.
Mildred Forrest, the boxer’s mother, offered a plea to return the Rolex watch and diamond-studded ring that read “4X World Champion.”
“I want my son back,” she said. “But I can’t have him, so this is very dear to my family. You can’t sell it or pawn it. Please just give it back, anonymously.”
Barely a month has passed since Forrest was shot down in a southwest Atlanta neighborhood while stopping to put air in his tires.
After an armed robber -- allegedly Ware -- confronted Forrest at a Whitehall Street convenience store, the boxer produced his own gun and chased the suspect.
Forrest exchanged fire with Ware, but lost the younger man, and came across Sinkfield. The two exchanged words, and as Forrest turned to walk away, Sinkfield shot him in the back seven or eight times, police say.
This would make the fourth death sentence case in as many years that Howard has taken on.
He denied seeking notoriety for pushing capital punishment in high-profile cases like Forrest’s or that of convicted courtroom shooter Brian Nichols. And Howard pointed to successful death sentences reached for Demetrius Willis and DeKelvin Martin.
“Two of the last people for whom we asked for the death penalty are unknown,” he said. “Check the procedure for how we went about prosecuting brutal murders.”
But Forrest’s death and the subsequent carjacking of City Councilman Caesar Mitchell that same weekend were high-profile crimes -- both coming on the heels of months-long weekend police furloughs -- that fueled a growing public perception that crime in Atlanta was on the rise.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and police chief Richard Pennington emerged after nearly a week of criticism to announce a crackdown on violent crime and promise to hire 139 police officers by year’s end.
“Will this work? I have every confidence ... that this will, with everyone pulling in the right direction,” Franklin said.
But Howard said closing the Forrest case, and doing so swiftly, can help restore public confidence in law enforcement.
“I hope ... it will give people a measure of safety and security,” he said.
