Mobil Service Station bombing: Paper committal proceedings nearing completion as more video evidence presented

The paper committal proceedings in the deadly October 2025 Mobil Service Station bombing case are nearing completion, with acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty expressing hope that the tendering of evidence will conclude at the next hearing.
At Thursday’s continuation of the proceedings before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, the prosecution tendered several additional video exhibits as the court continued reviewing documentary evidence to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to commit the four accused to stand trial in the High Court in Demerara.
At the conclusion of the hearing, which commenced at 13:30h and ended at approximately 15:15h, Acting Chief Magistrate McGusty said, “We are close to the completion of the tendering of the documents. Hopefully, next Wednesday we can complete…”
The paper committal proceedings, which commenced earlier this month, were adjourned to Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at 13:30h.
Among the exhibits presented on Thursday were several videos showing the Mobil Service Station at Regent and King Streets, Georgetown, in the aftermath of the explosion, as well as footage of surrounding areas.
The court also viewed a video-recorded Police interview with accused Jennifer Rodriguez conducted at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, interviews with other individuals connected to the investigation, a recorded Police interview with former accused Ramesh Pramdeo, video interviews with Police ranks, and footage captured inside a house and what appeared to be a bar.
The proceedings form part of a paper committal, a process in which the court determines whether sufficient documentary evidence exists to establish a prima facie case and commit an accused to stand trial without hearing live testimony.
Senior Police Legal Advisor Mandel Moore has been tendering a substantial body of evidence gathered during the investigation, including dozens of witness statements, forensic and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reports, documentary evidence and numerous video exhibits.
The four accused before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty are Venezuelan nationals Daniel Alexander Ramirez Poedemo, Alexander Bettancourt and Johnny Boodram, as well as Guyanese-Venezuelan Krystal LaCruz. They are facing terrorism-related charges stemming from the bombing that claimed the life of six-year-old Soraya Bourne.
Poedemo is charged under Section 3(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act with allegedly placing and detonating an explosive device with the intent to threaten Guyana’s security and sovereignty or to terrorise the public, resulting in the death of the six-year-old child.
Bettancourt, Boodram and LaCruz are jointly charged with aiding and abetting Poedemo in the commission of the alleged terrorist act.
They are not required to enter pleas at this stage of the proceedings and remain on remand pending the outcome of the paper committal. Each of the accused has retained legal counsel.
The charges stem from the October 26, 2025, explosion at the Mobil Service Station at the corner of Regent and King Streets, Georgetown, where an explosive device detonated while Bourne was seated in a vehicle with family members.

Several members of her family were injured, while nearby buildings and vehicles also sustained significant damage.
The current proceedings involve four of the original seven accused.
In April, Guyanese nationals Ramesh Pramdeo and Wayne Correia were discharged after Magistrate Alisha George of the Leonora Magistrate’s Court upheld a no-case submission, finding insufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against them.
However, their former co-accused, Venezuelan national Jennifer Rodriguez, was committed to stand trial in the High Court on a charge of aiding and abetting terrorism after the court found sufficient evidence against her.
Rodriguez remains on remand and is expected to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Criminal Assizes.
During interrogation, Poedemo reportedly admitted that he and one of his accomplices arrived in Guyana illegally by boat hours before the terrorist attack.
In a confession statement, he allegedly indicated that he had brought the bomb from Venezuela and activated it when he exited a vehicle at the gas station. It was also confirmed that he is a member of a Sindicato gang named “Organisation R” in his home country.
The Government has previously indicated that it will seek the death penalty against those convicted in the case under Guyana’s anti-terrorism legislation, which provides for capital punishment where a terrorist act results in death.