Defence attorneys for three of the accused in the October 2025 gas station bombing case made no-case submissions today, when the matter resumed before Principal Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Through their attorneys, the accused, Jhonny Boodram, Krystal La Cruz and Alexander Bettencourt, asked the court to find that the prosecution, led by Mandel Moore, had failed to establish a case against them.
Boodram was represented by Attorney-at-Law Mikel Puran, while Attorney Tifaine Rutherford appeared on behalf of La Cruz. Bettencourt was represented by Melvin Duke.
Boodram, La Cruz and Bettencourt, together with the prime suspect, Daniel Alexander Ramirez Peodemo, are facing a terrorism charge in connection with the October 2025 bombing, which resulted in the death of six-year-old Soraya Bourne.
Ramirez Peodemo’s state-appointed counsel, Shellon Boyce, told the court that her client would abide by the court’s ruling.
In March and again in April, Ramirez Peodemo told the court that he was solely responsible for the deadly bombing and pleaded with the court to acquit the other three accused. However, after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) instructed the prosecution to proceed with the terrorism charges against the three other Venezuelan nationals, Ramirez Peodemo withdrew his guilty plea.
In July, the prosecution completed the tendering of evidence in the closely watched case.
In total, more than 225 statements were tendered into evidence during the paper committal proceedings.
The statements came from doctors at the National Forensic Science University in India, police investigators and key witnesses in the case.
The evidence also included a DNA analysis report from the Center of Excellence in DNA Forensic in India, the post-mortem report on Bourne’s death, medical certificates for the other victims who survived the attack, and immigration records for four of the accused — Jhonny Boodram, Alexander Bettencourt, Daniel Alexander Ramirez Peodemo and Jennifer Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, who appeared before the Leonora Magistrates’ Court on a similar charge, has already been committed to stand trial in the High Court.
At the conclusion of the submissions, Magistrate Mc Gusty will review the statements, reports and documentary evidence tendered in court before deciding whether there is sufficient evidence for the three accused to be committed to stand trial.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login