Published: July 3, 2026
MONROVIA – The Monrovia City Magisterial Court on Friday acquitted businesswoman Dr. Vicky Gray of all criminal charges in a violent assault at the Cigar Bar in Sinkor, ruling that prosecutors failed to establish probable cause that she ordered her security personnel to beat three men, even as it bound three other defendants over for trial on lesser charges.
Stipendiary Magistrate Ben Barco, delivering the ruling after several days of preliminary examination, dismissed charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, menacing, criminal conspiracy and disorderly conduct against Gray.
The court ordered the remaining defendants to answer to the Circuit Court on charges of simple assault, menacing, criminal conspiracy and disorderly conduct, but dismissed the aggravated assault charge against them for lack of sufficient evidence.
The complaint was filed by Stephen Weah, Joseph C. Weah Jr. and Emmanuel Buno, who said they were attacked during the early morning hours of June 21 outside Cigar Bar on 19th Street in Sinkor.
The three men were assaulted on various parts of their bodies, including their faces and eyes, leaving bruises, lacerations and other injuries that required immediate medical attention, according to the complaint. Prosecutors said the defendants threatened the complainants during the attack and that Gray instigated the violence.
Court records show the defendants were charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, menacing, criminal conspiracy and disorderly conduct under various provisions of Liberia’s Penal Law.
When the matter came before the court, defense lawyers requested a preliminary examination to determine whether sufficient evidence existed to hold the defendants for trial at the Circuit Court. Prosecutors responded by calling four witnesses and introducing medical reports, photographs and video footage obtained during the police investigation.
The prosecution’s first witness, media personality and event host Grace Hawa Weah, testified that she organized the event Gray attended on the night of June 20.
She told the court that Gray had contacted her expressing interest in attending and that a VIP table had been reserved. Gray arrived shortly before midnight with a large entourage and several bodyguards, Grace Weah said.
Grace testified that although security initially prevented her from approaching Gray, the defendant later invited her over. She described the encounter as cordial and said she presented Gray with a complimentary bottle of tequila.
Around 3:30 a.m., while she was thanking Gray before leaving, one of the bodyguards leaned over and whispered something into Gray’s ear, Grace testified.
She said that immediately afterward she heard Gray instruct her security personnel to “beat them all.”
Moments later, members of Gray’s security team attacked her brother Joseph Weah, Grace testified. She said the assault continued even as she shouted that Joseph was her brother.
Grace further testified that Stephen Weah tried to rescue his brother but was also attacked, while Emmanuel Buno was injured after being struck with a bottle before bar security intervened.
Medical reports, hospital records and photographs documenting the injuries were admitted as prosecution exhibits.
Under cross-examination, Grace acknowledged there was no audio or video recording capturing Gray giving the alleged instruction. She also admitted Gray did not physically take part in the assault, but insisted she clearly heard the order because she was standing close enough despite loud music inside.
The prosecution next called Liberia National Police investigator George K. Quaye, who testified that police opened an investigation after Grace Weah filed a complaint on behalf of her brothers.
Quaye said investigators interviewed the parties, visited the scene, reconstructed the events and requested surveillance footage from Cigar Bar. Investigators later received the video through WhatsApp and recalled the parties to review it, he said.
Before investigators could conclude their inquiry, however, the complainants informed the Inspector General of Police that they wished to withdraw the matter, prompting police to discontinue the investigation without final conclusions, Quaye disclosed.
He testified that investigators nonetheless confirmed a physical confrontation had occurred inside the establishment. But although injuries were observed on the complainants, including an eye injury and bruises on different parts of their bodies, the investigation failed to establish who specifically committed the assaults, he said.
Quaye also confirmed that while three defendants were questioned, Gray was never interrogated before the investigation ended.
Stephen Weah, the prosecution’s third witness, gave a detailed account of the altercation, testifying that he and his siblings were preparing to leave Cigar Bar when the violence erupted.
He said that after seeing several men attacking his brother, he intervened but was struck from behind and fell to the ground. Three men then surrounded him, striking him with a shisha bottle, chasing him as he tried to escape and repeatedly punching him in the face, Stephen testified.
He further testified that one assailant tried to strike him with what appeared to be an iron object, but that his younger brother intervened and was injured. Stephen identified two of the alleged attackers by name and said he was later treated at APEX Eye Specialist Clinic after doctors diagnosed a serious eye injury.
Under cross-examination, Stephen acknowledged that Gray never physically assaulted him.
In his ruling, Barco said the purpose of a preliminary examination is not to determine guilt but to establish whether probable cause exists to require an accused person to stand trial before a Circuit Court.
After reviewing the complaint, testimony, medical evidence and exhibits, the court concluded that prosecutors failed to establish probable cause against Gray. The court observed that while Grace Weah alleged Gray ordered the attack, that allegation stood alone and was unsupported by independent evidence.
Barco also noted that the investigating officer testified police could not determine who committed the assault and that Gray was never questioned. The court further relied on admissions from prosecution witnesses that Gray did not physically assault any of the complainants.
For those reasons, the court ruled the evidence insufficient to require Gray to answer the charges at the Circuit Court and acquitted her on all counts.
While dismissing the case against Gray, Barco found sufficient evidence to establish probable cause against the remaining defendants on the lesser offenses. The court held that testimony and medical evidence supported simple assault because the complainants suffered bodily injuries, and that testimony about threats made during the beating satisfied the elements of menacing.
The magistrate found that the coordinated actions of multiple attackers established probable cause for criminal conspiracy, while the disturbance inside a public entertainment venue supported the disorderly conduct charge. The court ruled, however, that prosecutors failed to establish probable cause for aggravated assault against the remaining defendants and dismissed that charge.
Immediately after the ruling, prosecutors excepted to the portion acquitting Gray and told the court they would seek appellate review.
The case will now proceed to the Circuit Court against the remaining defendants on charges of simple assault, menacing, criminal conspiracy and disorderly conduct.
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