Gun-related charges against “Doggie” withdrawn

…only disorderly behaviour case to proceed on Dec 5

Five of the six criminal charges brought against Bradley “Doggie” Sampson were withdrawn on Wednesday when he appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty, leaving only a disorderly behaviour charge for the court to consider when the matter continues on December 5.

Sampson, 36, was charged in July following a heated confrontation at the Square of the Revolution, an incident that reportedly erupted over payments owed to individuals who had been mobilised for a political march hosted by We Invest in Nationhood (WIN). In the aftermath of the clash, Police laid several allegations against him, including possession of a firearm without a licence, unlawful carrying of a firearm in a public place, unlawful wounding, threatening behaviour, disorderly behaviour, and the use of obscene language.
He was granted bail on all of the charges, with the firearm-related offences attracting the highest sums. However, when the case was called on Wednesday, the prosecution informed the court that all of the charges except disorderly behaviour would be discontinued due to insufficient evidence.
Sampson had turned himself in in the company of his attorney, Jevon Cox, after Police issued a wanted bulletin. The alleged victim, Genista Fordyce, had accused Sampson of assaulting her with a firearm during a dispute over underpayment, a portion of which was recorded and widely circulated on social media. The video showed a heated exchange between Sampson and Fordyce in the vicinity of Square of the Revolution, also known as Cuffy Square.
Cox has repeatedly argued that the case against his client was unsupported by the evidence. He told the court that no firearm was ever recovered, either during the incident itself or during any follow-up Police operations. He stressed that for any object to be classified as a firearm under Guyanese law, ballistic testing must be conducted by a qualified expert, and no such testing was ever carried out.
According to the attorney, the prosecution had been relying almost entirely on viral videos and photographs from social media, which he said were insufficient to establish that Sampson was in possession of a weapon.
Cox also challenged the unlawful wounding allegation, noting that Fordyce had failed to appear in court and that no medical certificate had been tendered to confirm any injury. He added that Fordyce had reportedly informed Police that she did not wish to proceed with the matter, yet several of the charges were initially pursued regardless.
However, at Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecutor told the magistrate that they were advised by the Director of Public Prosecution to withdraw all the gun-related charges against Sampson. Some of the other matters were dismissed before.
He is expected to return to court on December 5, when the remaining disorderly behaviour charge will come up again for hearing.