Accused killer still waiting for trial date to be set

By Delon Shurtz on June 15, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Toronto man accused of killing a Lethbridge man during a dispute more than two years ago in the city, is still waiting to stand trial for murder.
A trial date has yet to be set for the accused, Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe, but when the matter was in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench Monday for arraignment, it was simply adjourned to Aug. 8.
Court was told the Crown and defence are seeking a case management conference, in which a judge will assist counsel in discussing and perhaps settling various issues and reducing the amount of time needed for trial.
The Crown noted during Monday’s hearing that the trial is expected to be lengthy.
The accused, who remains in custody and was not required to appear in court, was set to have a preliminary hearing last month, but on the day it was scheduled to begin, Edmonton lawyer Akram Attia waived the hearing and consented to have Dhiblawe committed to trial on the single charge of second-degree murder.
Dhiblawe’s charge stems from a shooting in Lethbridge 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, and it was transported to the Calgary medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
The identity of the victim has not been released.
Police said Dhiblawe and the victim knew each other, and following a verbal dispute over drugs, the man was shot.
The suspect fled before police arrived, but Dhiblawe was arrested the following month during an unrelated drug bust at a residence in Regina, Sask.
Dhiblawe was temporarily brought back to Alberta shortly after he was arrested, but has since been remanded in Regina.
He is also charged in connection with a murder in Edmonton on Feb. 8, 2020. Mohamed Ahmed Makaran, 32, was shot and killed in an apartment suite on McConachie Boulevard.

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