Murder case adjourned after lawyer no-show

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on September 30, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

The case against a Toronto man charged with second-degree murder stemming from a shooting in Lethbridge more than two and a half years ago had to be adjourned after his lawyer failed to attend court – for the second time in a row.

The matter for Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe was in Lethbridge Court of King’s Bench Monday, but when Calgary lawyer Akram Attia failed to show up, the matter was adjourned to Oct. 24. Moments later Calgary lawyer Samantha Labahn, who was in court on an unrelated matter, said she had contacted Attia and could act as his agent. Attia told her the matter was in “limbo” and he was waiting for the Crown’s office to re-assign the file and determine how much time would be needed for a trial.

Crown Prosecutor Shane Morrison said the Crown’s office is still reviewing the matter and a time estimate has not been decided.

The matter was last in court Aug. 8 but was adjourned when Attia failed to attend either in person or by CCTV. Before that the matter was in court June 13, at which time 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. The trial is expected to be lengthy.

The accused, who is in custody in Regina, Sask., and has not been required to appear in court, 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 he 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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