Pair convicted of manslaughter in Ali Mohummad death to be sentenced as adults

A judge has ordered two young men - who were 17 when they organized and participated in a parking lot ambush that led to the stabbing death of 19-year-old Ali Mohummad - be sentenced as adults.

Before a packed courtroom Tuesday, Ontario Court Justice Bernd Zabel found a youth sentence would be insufficient" to hold the pair accountable for their behaviour on July 19, 2020.

The now-20-year-old men were convicted of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in June following a 15-day trial that heard from 22 witnesses. They were found not guilty of second-degree murder.

The maximum youth sentence for manslaughter is three years, but for an adult it ranges up to life in prison. The prosecution previously told the court it expects to seek about eight years if the court agreed to sentence them as adults.

The convicted pair cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. However, that publication ban will be lifted once they are sentenced as adults.

During the trial court heard Mohummad was killed during a chaotic clash between two rival groups who met at 310 Limeridge Rd. W. around 1 a.m.

Mohummad's older brother, Hamza Chaudry, and the convicted pair had a dispute over a perceived disrespect" involving three sisters, with each side calling friends to the parking lot early that morning.

Chaudry's side thought they were there to talk out the issue. The other side ambushed Chaudry and his friends. The melee was captured on video, including a recording of Mohummad being chased through the parking lot, as well as the convicted pair being hit by a car. Chaudry and another friend were also stabbed and one other friend hurt.

It's not clear who wielded the knife that killed Mohummad, whose body was found hours later down a hill by a nearby apartment parking lot. However, Zabel agreed with the Crown that the pair were responsible because it was a group attack. A blow of one is a blow of all," he said.

After their conviction, assistant Crown attorney Alannah Grady argued the pair ought to be sentenced as adults because they were on the verge of turning 18" and were instigators" of a ganglike attack." Defence lawyers argued the pair were immature" 17-year-olds who did not realize what happened that night and should be sentenced as youths.

On Tuesday, Zabel agreed with the Crown, finding the arguments were fair, accurate, persuasive and compelling.

Court also heard brief submissions on a collateral source pre-sentence report, which was ordered after one of the convicted young men refused to participate in pre-sentence report interviews. The collateral source report relied on interviews with family and other documents.

Grady argued the report showed the young man is the baby of the family, who dictates all of their lives, including where they live. She said it was clear they didn't know what he was up to when he wasn't home and argued there was a lack of empathy toward the victim's family.

They appear to be in denial that their precious child is capable of such violence," Grady said.

Defence lawyer Jaime Stephenson said her interpretation of the report was entirely different. She said it showed a very supportive family and a young man who never breached court orders while he was on bail and who has been an exemplary inmate in custody. The young man's parents and older siblings have consistently been in court.

Court heard that another report is now required to assess where to appropriately incarcerate the convicted pair since they are to be sentenced as adults. That report is anticipated to take upwards of a month before sentencing can proceed.

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com