Twist in slay bust

Ex-con turned violence foe held in shooting

Do as he says, not as he does. A Bronx ex-con turned anti-violence crusader has been arrested for murder, authorities said Thursday.

Mervin Moore is accused of shooting 34-year-old Forest Byrd at a playground barbecue on Aug. 20.

Moore, 37, seemingly turned his life around after serving time in state prison.

In 2014, he joined Stand up to Violence, a Jacobi Medical Center program aimed at preventing shootings, stabbings and beatdowns.

“He attended anti-gun violence rallies and marches and visited NYPD precincts to talk about his network,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “Now, in tragic irony, he stands charged with murder.”

Clark was quick to note that groups like Stand Up to Violence do meaningful work.

“I consider anti-gun violence groups in the Bronx vital stakeholders in the fight against the gun scourge,” she said. “Their good work should not be tarnished by this alleged crime.”

After joining Stand Up, he said in an interview that his job was to counsel victims of violence and to keep others on the straight and narrow by helping them with job training and education.

“We deal with street violence,” Moore told City Limits in 2014. “It is a disease. And we are the cure.”

“You basically attack it at the root,” Moore added. “You send individuals like us who live in the neighborhoods and who have the influence.”

Byrd was (photo) hanging out at a party at the Eastchester Playground on Burke Ave. in Allerton — around the corner from his home — at around 1:30 a.m. when he was shot in the chest, back and left arm.

According to prosecutors, Moore spotted Byrd, went inside a building then returned to the party and fired multiple shots into the crowd.

Moore was aiming for Byrd, the only person struck, officials said. Investigators believe they had an ongoing beef.

Byrd was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center but could not be saved.

Moore ran off but was arrested Dec. 24 and pleaded not guilty in Bronx Criminal Court on Wednesday, authorities said.

“Mervin is innocent and that fact will be clear when and if this case gets to a trial,” Moore’s lawyer Dan Mentzer told the Daily News.

“It’s hard and the situation’s hard,” Moore’s wife told the Daily News Thursday. “I don’t want to talk about him right now.”

Moore, who was arrested for the murder on Dec. 24, has 14 prior arrests. Six are sealed. The others include a 2008 case for which he was sentenced to up to four years in prison after he was convicted of felony drug possession, tampering with a witness and attempted assault, according to a law enforcement source.

His parole expired in 2012. Byrd had been released from prison in January after serving 13 months for a drug conviction.

A friend of his said Byrd liked to draw and talked about wanting to become a fashion artist.