More than 100 statements tendered as gas station bombing case moves to paper committal

Paper committal proceedings involving four of the accused charged in connection with the deadly Mobil gas station explosion on Regent Street in October 2025 commenced on Monday.

The hearing experienced a brief delay after one of the accused, Krystal La Cruz, was late in joining the Zoom platform. All of the defendants are participating in the proceedings virtually. La Cruz eventually joined, allowing the matter to proceed.

During the hearing, acting chief magistrate Faith McGusty noted that attorney Mikhel Pooran, who represents one of the accused Johnny Boodram, was absent.

She informed the court that the hearing dates had been set “way in advance” and that she had received communication from Pooran requesting either a postponement until next Monday or for the matter to be called at 2:00 pm.

However, by the time La Cruz joined the virtual proceedings, it was 1:59 pm and Pooran was still not present. Taking into account that the matter is a paper committal proceeding, the magistrate ruled that there was no real necessity to delay the hearing further and ordered that it continue.

Prosecutor Mandel Moore told the court that the prosecution had already laid over the original statements, documents and exhibits and was prepared to begin tendering the evidence.

The magistrate subsequently proceeded with the tendering of statements, which amounted to more than 100 documents. The matter was then adjourned to Tuesday for continuation.

A paper committal is a legal process in which a magistrate determines whether there is sufficient evidence to commit an accused person to stand trial in the High Court based solely on written evidence and legal submissions, rather than live witness testimony.

Venezuelan national Daniel Alexander Ramirez Poedemo, the alleged mastermind behind the attack, is jointly charged alongside Alexander Bettencourt, Johnny Boodram and Krystal La Cruz.

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.

During previous court appearances, Ramirez Poedemo repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack and urged the court to release the other accused. Following an adjournment, the court was informed that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided to proceed with charges against the remaining defendants.

The deadly explosion resulted in the death of young Soraya Bourne.

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