Evidence complete in Ali Mohummad murder trial

All the evidence is in at the second-degree murder trial of a teen charged in the death of 19-year-old Ali Mohummad, who was fatally stabbed during a large parking lot brawl in July 2020.

For its last witness, the Crown once again returned to cellphone video of the melee at 310 Limeridge Rd. W., which shows part of the chaotic confrontation between two groups. The Crown says the video shows Mohummad running for his life and being chased by two people, including the teen on trial.

Court has already seen this video numerous times, but on Thursday Hamilton police Det. David Brewster took the stand to walk the court through how to adjust brightness, contrast and speed to better see those running, including the colour of their clothing. Police say the teen, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was wearing a red shirt and jeans. This clothing matches other video from a nearby apartment building that night.

All parties have acknowledged the video evidence is crucial to the case. But it will ultimately be up to Ontario Court Justice Tony Leitch to decide what the video shows.

Lawyer Lauren Wilhelm told the court the defence is not calling evidence.

The trial has faced several delays, including over issues with interpreters. Prior to Brewster, court heard from Mohammad Alrubaye, a friend of Mohummad's brother, Hamza Chaudry, who was with the group during the Limeridge attack.

Alrubaye had been called to testify weeks earlier, but his testimony was stalled after he said there were problems with the accuracy of his Arabic translator. Alrubaye speaks and understands English well enough to flag the problem. He later said his head hurt from trying to listen.

To remedy the issue the court ordered transcripts of both what was said in English and a translation of what was said in Arabic. But to the court's dismay, those transcripts were also deemed unreliable after assistant Crown attorney Sheena MacDougall noted errors in how her English questions had been recorded.

Leitch expressed frustration over the failing, noting that the transcription service was hired by the government.

This is disastrous," he said.

Ultimately, Leitch ruled to exclude Alrubaye's initial evidence and the witness started afresh Wednesday.

Alrubaye told the court he was with a friend in Niagara Falls the night of July 18, 2020, when they got a message to come to Hamilton. When they arrived at the Limeridge parking lot, Alrubaye said he was hit on the head with a rock and then drove another friend who had been stabbed to get help.

Court has already heard the two sides met up in the Hamilton Mountain plaza parking lot amid a conflict over perceived disrespect between Chaudry and two Hamilton teens. But when Chaudry and his friends arrived, they were ambushed. Later, no one could find Mohummad. The police canine unit tracked a blood trail and found the 19-year-old dead up against a fence, behind 11 Kendale Crt.

The two Hamilton teens at the centre of the conflict were found guilty in a separate trial of manslaughter for organizing and participating in the ambush.

The trial of the third teen continues with closing submissions Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

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