Trial for third teen charged in Ali Mohummad’s murder going ahead
A teen accused of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of 19-year-old Ali Mohummad has lost his bid to have the charges tossed out of court over delays from a backlogged justice system.
In court Wednesday, Ontario Court Justice Anthony Leitch dismissed the defence application under Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which limits how long a case can remain before the courts from the swearing of charges to resolution.
Leitch said he was still working on writing his reasons for judgment, which will be released at a later date. The judge was supposed to release the decision and reasons earlier this month, but was delayed due to his own long list of cases.
The accused was 17 at the time of the July 19, 2020 stabbing and therefore cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The decision means his judge-alone trial will go ahead. It is scheduled to start Jan. 3, 2023.
He sat quietly with his lawyer and an Arabic interpreter in the courtroom Wednesday. Several family members sat in the body of the court and the victim's family listened over Zoom.
Two other young men, also 17 at the time of the murder, are being tried separately on charges of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Judgment in their case is scheduled for Thursday, June 16 (the day after the 11(b) application decision).
The prosecution has argued these two teens organized an early-morning ambush at 310 Limeridge Rd. W., east of Garth Street, that led to Mohummad's death. The teens had an ongoing conflict with Mohummad's older brother Hamza Chaudry over a perceived disrespect.
Chaudry and friends testified that they went to the parking lot to talk out the issue when they were ambushed. Video of the melee shows a chaotic scene with young men running everywhere. The video shows Mohummad being chased out of the parking lot. The two teens being tried together were hit by a car.
Their defence lawyers argued it was a consensual fight, not an ambush, and the boys didn't know what happened to Mohummad, known as Ali Moe.
The third teen is accused of participating in the fight. He has pleaded not guilty.
During the early-morning hours of July 19, after the brawl broke up, friends and police initially couldn't find Mohummad. His stabbed body was found about four hours later down an embankment near an apartment building behind the large parking lot. The prosecution says evidence points to Mohummad being stabbed in the parking lot, before he ran and collapsed.
Several other people were hurt during the incident, including Chaudry, who was stabbed in the arm.
The third teen was arrested and charged nearly 10 months after the parking lot brawl after police allegedly identified him on video near the scene.
The defence argued in court that his case will surpass the 18-month time limit set by the Supreme Court of Canada in its Jordan Decision. But Leitch disagreed.
The case was among a number of applications to stay proceedings because of delays, The Spectator has reported. The beleaguered justice system already faced backlogs before the COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread shutdowns. Since the pandemic hit that backlog has been exacerbated to the point of crisis, with courts scrambling to keep up with cases and some charges being stayed or withdrawn.
One judge who granted a stay in an impaired driving case in March warned the wave" of 11(b) applications was threatening to morph into a tsunami," Justice Joe Fiorucci said.
Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com