Murder case adjourned after lawyer fails to show up for court

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 9, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Toronto man charged with second-degree murder stemming from a shooting in Lethbridge more than two years ago had to be adjourned after his lawyer failed to show up for court.

The matter for Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe was in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench Monday, but adjourned to Sept. 26 after Edmonton lawyer Akram Attia failed to attend court either in person or by CCTV. In the meantime Dhiblawe remains in custody in Regina on unrelated charges.

During Dhiblawe’s last court hearing in June, court was told the Crown and defence were seeking a case management conference for a judge to help counsel iron out some issues and reduce the amount of time needed for trial, which is expected to be lengthy.

The accused, who was not required to appear in court Monday, was set to have a preliminary hearing in May, but on the day it was scheduled to begin Attia waived the hearing and consented to have Dhiblawe committed to trial.

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.

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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