Court upholds no-case submission for man accused of murder

– CCTV showed no evidence linking accused to the fatal stabbing – Defence

More than three years after he was charged with the murder of labourer Yoel Valenzuela following an incident at Soesdyke Junction, East Bank Demerara (EBD), Alexi Ponce was on Friday discharged after a Magistrate upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf.
Magistrate Tameika Clarke, sitting at the Friendship Magistrate’s Court, upheld the submission by Ponce’s Attorney-at-Law Bernard DaSilva, who had argued that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against his client.
Ponce had been before the courts since July 2023 in connection with the killing of Valenzuela, 40, who was found with injuries at Soesdyke Junction following an altercation at a nearby bar.
DaSilva, who represented Ponce throughout the preliminary inquiry/paper committal proceedings, filed his no-case submission on July 23, 2026.
Central to the defence’s case was its contention that there was no evidence before the court that Ponce stabbed Valenzuela.

The defence relied on the post-mortem examination conducted by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh, which recorded the cause of Valenzuela’s death as perforation of the kidneys due to a stab wound to the back.
“There is no evidence that the No. 2 accused stabbed anyone,” DaSilva argued in his written submission.
The attorney also placed significant reliance on CCTV footage tendered by the prosecution during the proceedings. The footage was not contested by the defence.
According to DaSilva, the prosecution’s CCTV evidence, when considered together with a video-recorded Police interview, supported his client’s account of what occurred during the confrontation.
The defence contended that the footage, when viewed from the available angles, “clearly differentiates the aggressor from the peace maker”, adding emphatically in its submission that Ponce “was NOT the aggressor”.
DaSilva further argued that while investigators had complied with procedure by video-recording the Police interview, they failed to analyse and extract information from it which could have advanced the prosecution’s case.
He submitted that the evidence presented against Ponce was tenuous, inherently weak and, in some instances, vague, and was incapable of establishing the essential elements required for a murder charge.
For murder, the prosecution was required at that stage to present evidence capable of establishing that Ponce unlawfully caused Valenzuela’s death and did so with the requisite intent.
DaSilva relied on the English authority R v Galbraith [1981] 2 All ER 1060, which addresses the circumstances in which a court should uphold a submission that an accused has no case to answer.
Under the principles cited by the defence, a case should be stopped where there is no evidence that the accused committed the alleged crime. Where some evidence exists but is so weak, vague or inconsistent that a properly directed jury could not properly convict on it, a court can similarly find that there is no case to answer.
The defence also relied on Public Prosecutions’ Reference Number 2 of 1980, citing then Justice of Appeal Luckhoo on the requirement for the prosecution to adduce evidence capable of proving each essential constituent of an offence before a matter can properly be left for determination at trial.
“The state has failed to discharge its burden of proof at this ‘prima facie’ stage of proceedings, in relation to the charge of murder against the No. 2 accused, Alexi Ponce,” DaSilva submitted.
He consequently asked that Ponce be discharged. Magistrate Clarke upheld the no-case submission on Friday and accordingly discharged Ponce from the murder charge.
Valenzuela was killed following an incident that began at Ragu Sports Bar at Soesdyke Junction, during the night of July 15 into the early hours of July 16, 2023.
Police had reported at the time that Valenzuela, a labourer of Timehri, had gone to the establishment with his 17-year-old son and two relatives.
While they were drinking, an argument reportedly developed between Valenzuela and a man known to members of the group. Valenzuela’s son subsequently became involved in the confrontation and reportedly pushed and struck the man. Police said the dispute escalated, and Valenzuela and his relatives eventually fled the establishment.
Valenzuela reportedly ran south along the Soesdyke Public Road before turning onto the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, while persons involved in the confrontation followed him.
At approximately 05:30h that morning, a resident discovered Valenzuela lying motionless at Soesdyke Junction and alerted the Police.
Investigators reported observing an injury above his left ear and another to the right side of his back. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Ponce, who was 53 at the time and was identified as a resident of Timehri, was subsequently charged jointly with then 23-year-old Jose Iguardo in connection with Valenzuela’s killing.