A notorious gang suspect accused of shooting a Bermudian three years ago has been pushed nearer to the gas chamber.

Mark Lorenzo Squires is finally due to face trial for shooting Charles (Lyndon) Fubler in November 1995.

Mr. Fubler, now 27, is rebuilding his life and has a full-time job in Bermuda despite suffering permanent eyesight damage after being shot in the back of the head. Squires meanwhile was finally captured after two-and-a-half years on the run last July.

He is now in the high-security Pitt County Detention Centre, accused of two gruesome murders in Greenville, North Carolina.

But a judge there ruled on Monday that he should first be extradited to Georgia to face trial for shooting Mr. Fubler.

Squires, 23, can expect a life sentence of more than 50 years if convicted of the shooting in Augusta, Georgia.

Prime suspect Squires now has 30 days to challenge the extradition ruling, originally authorised by the North Carolina state governor.

But prosecution lawyers working on the double murder case in Greenville are hoping he will be tried in Georgia first.

Shooting suspect could face death They can use any conviction as an "aggravating circumstance''.. . more likely to secure a death sentence.

Squires would then be faced with the grim choice of a lethal injection or the gas chamber.

Clark Everett, Chief Assistant District Attorney in Greenville, said: "I anticipate he will be extradited back to Georgia for trial.

North Carolina is one of the frontline death-penalty states in the US, with 207 inmates presently on death row.

Squires, an alleged member of the infamous Los Angeles gang The Crips, was arrested in the state in late July on suspicion of killing two men.

Both victims were shot in a car and their decomposed bodies were found in the vehicle, hidden in a pile of trash behind a disused building.

Former Augusta College student Mr. Fubler was shot during a raid at Squires' ex-girlfriend's house.

The ex-girlfriend, Sheila Kitchens, was one of Mr. Fubler's friends. She and her 12-year-old brother George were also shot during the raid.

Twenty-year-old Daniel Downing, said to have been with Squires, is already serving 55 years for aggravated assault, burglary and possession of a weapon.

Mark Lorenzo Squires BERMUDIAN BDA