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Man Killed In Drain Was Hard Working, No Criminal Record
posted (March 6, 2013)
At the top of the newscast last night we told you about a late evening shooting that left a man dead in a drain on Glynn Street.

His identity has been confirmed as 36 year old stevedore Frank Neal, a resident of Guererro Street in the Port Loyola Area. Today we spoke to his family who could hardly find words to explain how senseless his killing is.

Jules Vasquez Reporting

Yesterday, Frank Neal's family had to be carted away from the scene, fainting, overwhelmed at the image of him lying dead in the drain.

His family says that the 36 year old Neal came around here regularly to buy Johnny Cakes

Jamelia Neal- Niece of Deceased
"Anybody who knows my uncle Frankie knows he is not a troubled man. He was just walking behind extra house to collect his pay. Upon going to collect his pay, well the person know who kill him and we will leave that to God. They will pay back in their own way, the person that shot my uncle, when they see his picture on news tonight, they will know he is no trouble or in any gang. Anybody that knows him knows he works as a stevedore. Every day he goes to buy Johnny cake from the same spot, so the person that shot him knows he goes to buy Johnny cake around there every day.

Jules Vasquez
"Now he has just been paid, do you think that robbery have been a motive?"

Jamelia Neal
"He has not gotten his pay as yet, only his pay slip was in his pocket. He hasn't collected his pay, he has his ATM card, and they didn't get anything. They only thing is the bicycle the thief got away with. I don't think that robbery was the motive; these young men are just shooting people innocently. That was not robbery, the police took everything out of his pocket that he had in it yesterday."

So it doesn't appear to have been robbery - and Neal was a stevedore with no criminal record:

Aaron Humes - Freelance Journalist
"I understand he had no criminal record, no criminal association of any kind."

Jamelia Neal
"None; when I went to the police station the police said I am surprise this young man has no criminal record, never been to the station, or in jail. "

And that is why yesterday his family members begged police to see the body - to perhaps find something that would have told them why.

Jamelia Neal
"I am in fear because we live in this neighborhood and everyone knows that knows south side, knows south side for its gun violence. What I said on the next news is this "Dean Barrow you need to get up and do something about it". Their getting sponsors for crime and violence and the crime is not going down it is going up more and more. They need to push the police harder because if they can have a murder happen right in front of the Supreme Court, and not do anything about it. They have to try harder."

Police found one nine millimeter shell at the scene. The area where he was shot is known to intersect two gang strongholds. Neal did not have children.

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