GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept 9, CMC – Defence attorneys for three of the accused in the October 2025 deadly gas station bombing case Wednesday made no-case submissions on behalf of their clients arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish its case.
The attorneys – Mikel Puran, Tifaine Rutherford and Melvin Duke – who appeared on behalf of the accused Jhonny Boodram, Krystal La Cruz and Alexander Bettencourt, told Magistrate Faith McGusty in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court that the prosecution led by Mandel Moore, had failed to establish a case against them.
The three accused along with Daniel Alexander Ramirez Peodemo, whom the prosecution prosecution has described as the alleged mastermind of the attack, are facing a terrorism charge in connection with the October 26, 2025 bombing, which resulted in the death of six-year-old Soraya Bourne and left several members of her family seriously injured.
Attorney Shelton Boyce, who is representing the Venezuelan Ramirez Peodemo told the court that no submissions would be filed on his behalf and that her client would abide by the court’s ruling.
In March and April, Ramirez Peodemo told the court that he was solely responsible for the deadly bombing and asked that the other three accused be released. 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.
Two other accused men, Ramesh Pramdeo and Wayne Correia, who were charged in a separate magisterial district, were freed in April after the court upheld a no-case submission in their favour.
In July, the prosecution completed the tendering of evidence with more than 225 statements tendered into evidence during the paper committal proceedings.
Under the paper-committal process, the defence may argue that the evidence is insufficient to justify a trial. If the magistrate finds that there is no sufficient case against an accused, that person/s may be discharged. If the court is satisfied that a prima facie case has been established, the accused may be committed to stand trial in the High Court.
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.
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.
