Judge Dismisses – By Staff writer
Judge Dismisses Charges Murder
A High Court judge has dismissed all charges against Jahciba Shoy after ruling there was no case for him to answer.
The High Court judge accepted a no-case submission made by defence attorney Wendel Alexander, dismissing the charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated robbery at the close of the prosecution’s case.
Alexander argued both limbs of the Galbraith test, submitting that the prosecution’s evidence was too weak to support a conviction and amounted to no more than suspicion and speculation.
He also argued that it would be dangerous to leave the case to the jury and urged the judge to withdraw the matter before the defence was called.
Under the Galbraith test, a judge must decide whether the prosecution’s evidence is so weak that no reasonable jury could safely convict, or whether the evidence, even taken at its highest, is insufficient to support a conviction.
Alexander told the court that surveillance footage obtained from businesses near the scene showed only Shoy and another individual walking together for several minutes. He argued the footage did not link his client to the offences.
The charges arose from the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Syrian national Roudi Shmaly during a robbery at the Pick ‘n Mix Mart on Desouza Road in May 2023.
During the trial, an eyewitness testified that an armed man entered the shop and confronted the cashier before she fled the store. She said she heard two gunshots shortly afterwards. Under cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that she never saw the gunman’s face and could not describe his complexion.
Shoy had been on remand since his arrest.
Meanwhile, a teenager who was 16 at the time of the offence pleaded guilty in May 2025 to the fatal shooting. He was later sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, the maximum penalty available at the time under the juvenile sentencing guidelines.
