A man who allegedly beat his girlfriend and then tried to shoot her, only to hit a bystander instead, is expected to face trial in Suffolk Superior Court today with the man who allegedly handed him the firearm.

JUSTIN SEARCY (D.O.B. 3/14/90) of Mattapan, who allegedly fired the shot at his 25-year-old girlfriend but struck her 31-year-old male cousin in the face early last year, is charged with armed assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and firearms offenses.

THEODORE GAMBLE (D.O.B. 12/8/84) of Jamaica Plain, who allegedly provided Searcy with the loaded .38 caliber revolver as Searcy argued with the woman, is charged with the same offenses. He is also charged under the state’s Armed Career Criminal statute and with unlawfully possessing a firearm as a second or subsequent offense, both of which provide for enhanced penalties if he is convicted.

Prosecutors say Searcy and his girlfriend were engaged in an argument outside a Jamaica Plain apartment in the early morning hours of Jan. 10, 2009. The argument became physical, with Searcy allegedly striking the woman and dragging her by the hair. When the woman followed him outside to Centre Street and the altercation continued, Searcy allegedly told Gamble to give him a gun.

Gamble is said to have given Searcy the loaded .38 he had been carrying. With that .38, prosecutors say, Searcy fired several shots at his girlfriend. All of them missed, but one of them struck her cousin in the face, shattering his jaw.

Searcy allegedly tossed the gun in a nearby dumpster before being apprehended by responding Boston Police.

In a twist, a man unrelated to the conflict is currently serving a four-and-a-half-year prison term for carrying his own unlicensed firearm. That man, CHARLES DEVOE (D.O.B. 2/19/86), was convicted at trial earlier this year after prosecutors proved that he was near the scene with his own weapon and fled the shooting. He also tossed his weapon into a dumpster and was also apprehended by Boston Police.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Janezic is prosecuting Searcy and Gamble in courtroom 313 of Suffolk Superior Court. Gamble is represented by attorney Eleftherios Travayiakis and Searcy by attorney Bruce Carroll. Jessica Sheehan is the district attorney’s victim-witness advocate on the case.