The prime suspect in the Mobil Gas Station bombing made another appearance in Court this morning along with three of his co-accused via zoom before Acting Chief Magistrate (ag) Faith McGusty.
The prime suspect, 33-year-old Venezuelan national Daniel Alexander Ramirez Poedemo, along with co-accused 44-year-old Alexander Bettencourt, 27-year-old Johnny Boodram and 33-year-old Kystal LaCruz have been charged with terrorism linked to the deadly bombing that claimed the life of six-year-old Soraya Bourne.
Three others are facing similar charges, but they are appearing before the Leonora Magistrates’ Court.
Today, Police Prosecutor Mandel Moore handed over a file of documents to the Court, promising to make further disclosure when the case comes up again on December 3.
However, the Attorney for Boodram, Mikel Puran made an application for the Prosecution to hand over a number of police records, including their diaries.
Maintaining his client – a taxi driver – is innocent, Puran told reporters that the documents will help to prove that Boodram was not part of any plot to bomb the gas station.
“I requested the diary, the charge sheet and the feeding books from the 27th October to the 3rd December, that would have been when Johnny Boodram was in custody to when he was placed before the court, which is standard. And I also requested the originals of Johnny Boodram’s taxi service ID and his base receipts, which are in the car,” Puran explained.
Boodram, according to his attorney, is a taxi driver who works out of a base in Region 3. The Attorney said, as a taxi driver, his client usually provides transportation services to co-accused Krystal LaCruz, who operates a bar in Region 3, and on the day of the attack, October 26, he was hired by the Guyanese-Venezuelan national.
“I haven’t read this [the documents disclosed] but from everything I understand, I think it is an abuse of the process to bring Johnny Boodram before the Court. This thing could have happened to anybody. He is just a taxi driver, he knows Krystal LaCruz, who is a regular customer of his, and she hired him, and he was doing his job, his work on the 26th of October. I don’t understand how he could even be an accessory after the fact. He had no knowledge of this bombing, and I am sure when this [the files] you are not going to see anything like that,” Puran told reporters.
Boodram along with Bettencourt and LaCruz have been accused of aiding and abetting Poedemo in the commission of a deadly terrorism act to threaten Guyana’s sovereignty and the safety of its citizens.
But Puran said not only has Boodram been wrongfully accused, his wife is now being harassed and targeted by the Police over a Facebook post. The woman has been accused of committing a cyber offence.
It was explained that last Saturday, the Police instructed Boodram’s wife to report to the Leonora Police Station over her Facebook post defending her husband.
“When I had a look at the Facebook post, it is just about videos that she posted with the owners of Standard Taxi Base Service, a guy name Peter and Joshua, removing the Standard Base Taxi logo from the car before police arrested Johnny Boodram. This car is in ‘P,’ so it is vital that, that logo remains there for Johnny’s case to show that it is a taxi vehicle,” Puran explained.
He said instead of charging Boodram’s wife with cyber crime, the operators of the taxi service should be investigated for tampering with crucial evidence. He said it is a clear case of obstruction of justice.
Boodram, Poedemo and the two other co-accused, who have been jointly charged remain on remand.
Meanwhile, the three other accused Wayne Corriea, Ramesh Pramdeo and Jennifer Rodriguez – who have been charged separately with terrorism in the Leonora Magistrates’ Court– are expected to appear in Court on November 24.
Related posts:
Attorney for Guyanese men charged in terror case says clients are innocent and should have been used as witnesses
Four Venezuelans and Three Guyanese remanded to jail on terrorism charges related to gas station bombing
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Main suspect in deadly terror attack at gas station arrested by Police in Region 3
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