Case in shooting death adjourned for disclosure

By Herald on March 9, 2021.

Delon Shurtz – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – dshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

The case against a 30-year-old man charged in a shooting death in the city a year ago, has been delayed while defence waits to obtain more disclosure from the Crown’s office.

Although defence has received details about the crime, defence told a judge Monday in Lethbridge provincial court there was still “outstanding disclosure” it hadn’t received, which would require another adjournment. The matter is now set to return to court March 22.

During a hearing early in February, court was told the Crown and defence were preparing to have a preliminary inquiry, but first needed to schedule a pre-trial conference to find a suitable date for the inquiry, determine how much time would be required, and discuss trial issues. Counsel hoped to have the pre-trial conference and a date for the preliminary inquiry by the time the accused, Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe, returned to court later the same month, but the matter was simply adjourned again.

A preliminary inquiry, or preliminary hearing, is typically held to present evidence before the judge and lawyers, and determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial.

Dhiblawe is charged with one count of second-degree murder, stemming from a shooting Feb. 6, 2020. Just after 10:30 p.m. police responded to a report of a shooting at a residence in the 200 block of University Drive West. Officers found the body of a 35-year-old man inside the home.

The body was transported to the Calgary medical examiner’s office, where an autopsy confirmed the manner of death. The identity of the victim has not been released.

Police said Dhiblawe and his victim knew each other, and following a verbal dispute over drugs, the man was fatally shot. The suspect  fled before police arrived, but Dhiblawe was arrested March 6 during an unrelated drug bust at a residence in Regina, Sask.

Dhiblawe, who is from Toronto and is currently in custody, was temporarily brought back to Alberta shortly after he was arrested. He is also charged in connection with a murder in Edmonton on Feb. 8 of last year. Mihamed Ahmed Makaran, 32, was shot and killed in an apartment suite on McConachie Boulevard.

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