Alexi Ponce, who was charged with murder in connection with the death of Yoel Valenzuela, was on Friday discharged after a magistrate upheld a no-case submission made on his behalf.
Ponce was the number two accused in the murder matter before Magistrate Tameika Clarke at the Friendship Magistrate’s Court.
The charge alleged that on July 16, 2026, at Soesdyke Junction, East Bank Demerara, Ponce murdered Valenzuela.
During the preliminary proceedings, several witness statements were tendered by the prosecution, along with video footage which was not contested.
However, Attorney-at-Law Benard Davila who represented Ponce throughout the preliminary inquiry/paper committal, submitted that the prosecution had failed to establish a sufficient case against his client.
In the no-case submission, the defence relied on the legal principles established in R v Galbraith [1981] 2 All ER 1060, which outline the circumstances under which a court should stop a case where the prosecution evidence is insufficient to support a conviction.
The defence argued that the prosecution had failed to establish the essential elements of murder, including that Ponce unlawfully caused Valenzuela’s death and did so with malice aforethought.
The submission further contended that there was no evidence that Ponce stabbed anyone.
Reference was also made to the post-mortem examination conducted by Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh, which recorded the cause of death as perforation of the kidneys due to a stab wound to the back.
The defence also relied heavily on CCTV footage presented by the prosecution, arguing that the recording, when viewed from different angles, distinguished between the alleged aggressor and the person attempting to intervene.
According to the defence submission, Ponce was not the aggressor in the incident.
The attorney further argued that while police had complied with due process by recording Ponce’s interview, they failed to properly analyse and extract information from the recording that could have advanced the prosecution’s case.
Da Silva maintained that the prosecution’s evidence was tenuous, inherently weak and, in some instances, vague, and therefore failed to establish a prima facie case against Ponce.
The submission also cited a ruling by Justice of Appeal Aubrey Luckhoo in Public Prosecutions’ Reference No. 2 of 1980, which addressed the court’s duty where the prosecution fails to establish an essential element of an offence.
The defence ultimately asked that Ponce be discharged because the State had failed to meet the required threshold at the prima facie stage.
On Friday, August 14, 2026, Magistrate Clarke upheld the no-case submission and accordingly discharged Ponce of the murder charge.
The ruling brings to an end the murder proceedings against the number two accused at the magistrate’s court.
