-As a US Citizen Lucas Found Not Guilty

By Jacqueline Dennis

The case involving an American, Lucas Richard, who allegedly attempted to murder Jessica Lloyd, has ended with Richard not being found guilty of attempted murder.

Criminal Court “B” Judge Nelson Chinneh to the Ms. Lloyd’s legal team, who was the State, that the pieces of evidence produced were “flimsy and insufficient to support the allegation laid in the indictment and to support a conviction.”

On Wednesday, April 17, Judge Chinneh ruled that there is a long line of cases in which the Supreme Court has so held, that when the evidence is insufficient, conflicting, or inconsistent to sustain the charge, the accused must be acquitted on the principle of reasonable doubt.

According to the Judge, due to many other reasons apparent in the evidence adduced during the hearing of the case, the prosecution did not overcome the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the defendant as required by section 2.1, ILCLR, Title 2.

“Wherefore and given the foregoing, it is the holding of this court that considering the fact, circumstance, and the laws controlling, the defendant is hereby adjudged not guilty of the crime of Aggravated Assault and Criminal Attempt to commit murder. The defendant is hereby ordered discharged from ever answering this charge and his bail bond if any orders are returned. And it is hereby so ordered,” the Judge said.

The Criminal Court “B” Judge further noted, that from the record, the principal witness (Jessica) maintained that the defendant did nothing to her “This evidence weight all other evidence speaking contrary, more especially in the absence of any evidence that this admission was made under circumstances manifesting threat, fear or inducement. If it is argued that she was unconscious and therefore her testimony need not be credited then which testimony will corroborate witness Ernest Phillip’s testimony, generally, hearsay evidence is not admissible.”

He further said, that after Jessica regained consciousness, regarding happenings around her while she was in her state of unconsciousness was what she was told by a third party in the criminal case. “The evidence must be corroborated to be weighty and reliable. Uncorroborated evidence is insufficient to convict a defendant. The lone testimony of the eyewitness, Ernest Phillip, without any corroborating evidence linking the defendant to the crime is insufficient to sustain,” Judge Chinneh further stated.

He said the testimonies of Jessica Lloyd varied from one stage to another for instance, before eyewitnesses at Palm Farm, Dixville, Jessica said that Lucas did not do anything to her. Secondly, when she appeared as a general witness, she testified that when she woke up and came out of the dish, she never knew that she was injured or bleeding until one of the ladies who came to her to tie a cloth around her neck to stop the bleeding and when she appeared as prosecution’s rebuttal witness, she said Lucas hit iron on her head and subsequently attempted slaying her throat and she also said that she never knew that Lucas wanted to kill her until he pulled off from the crime scene. “The variance in Jessica Lloyd’s testimonies is glaring,” the judge added.

“Throughout the entire proceeding, the prosecution neglected to produce the criminal instrument that was used in the commission of the crime charged as well as evidence that is capable of supporting the allegations and or charges in the indictment, despite the defense application requesting for the bill of particulars State failed to account for the knife and the iron that were allegedly used by the defendant in commission of the crimes of aggravated Assault and Criminals Attempt to Commit Murder, while photograph of the crimes scene was not also produce.”

“The court wonders what will this girl be struggling to get in the car of her attempted murderer, the defendant herein. Has she succeeded in getting in the car and leaving along with the defendant, will the defendant still be considered as represented by the prosecution,” the judge asked.

“If this assertion that she was hit by the car door while struggling to get into the car is true and correct it will leave this court to believe that she did not see danger in the defendant,” Judge Chinneh added.

It can be recalled that the Grand Jury for Montserrado County, indicted Lucas Richard on December 14, 2023, with the Commission of the Crimes of Aggravated Assault and Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder second-degree felonies

The indictment said on September 14, 2023, the defendant injected and dosed the private Prosecutrix, Jessica LIoyd with an unknown substance with the intent to abort a three-month pregnancy.

The state further alleged in counts three and four of the indictment that the defendant having noticed that Jessica was helpless and weak as a result of the dose and injection, took advantage of her on September 14, 2023, around the Palm Farm Community, Township of Dixville Montserrado. “The defendant with criminal intent struck Jessica Lloyd on her forehead and when she fell on the ground and became unconscious, you the defendant got on her unconscious body and began to slash her throat with a knife, in an attempt to kill her.”