Lawyer quits, delaying trial of accused killer again

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This article was published 05/03/2024 (598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jurors were sent home Monday on what was to be the first day of a month-long murder trial for Abdullahi Ahmed after his lawyer told a judge she could no longer represent him.

“There has been a fundamental erosion in the trust that needs to exist in the solicitor-client relationship,” defence lawyer Kristen Jones told King’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier. “I do not see any way to repair that, given what has transpired.”

Ahmed, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in the April 16, 2021, shooting of 21-year-old Hayder Hassan at Thomson in the Park Funeral Home and Cemetery on McGillivray Boulevard.

Jones did not provide the court with detailed reasons as to why she could no longer represent Ahmed, saying it wouldn’t be in Ahmed’s best interest to waive client-solicitor privilege.

“My ethical obligation to the court and the profession is engaged and I am not in a position to proceed,” Jones said.

Chartier expressed frustration with the development, noting this is the second time a trial had been derailed in the case. Last year, Ahmed fired his lawyers following the completion of a pre-trial hearing, forcing the cancellation of trial dates.

“We are three years out from (the killing) and this is bringing the administration of justice to a bit of a grinding halt,” he said.

Prosecutor Ari Millo told Chartier the Crown had witnesses waiting in the hallway and was ready to proceed with its case.

“There’s not much we can say, given that, as in the previous case, we can’t get behind what’s happening here, but the timing of it is extremely suspicious,” Millo said.

“My suspicion is that Mr. Ahmed, for the second time now, has thrown a monkey wrench into the works,” he said.

Given a chance to address court, Ahmed said it wasn’t his choice to part ways with Jones.

“When I heard the news I was lost of hopes I had the last past years,” he said. “It is not my decision.”

Jones said she would appeal to Legal Aid Manitoba to help secure new counsel for Ahmed.

On Tuesday, lawyers Adam Hodge and Alex Steigerwald went on record as new counsel for Ahmed, with a new trial set for February 2025.

Chartier told Ahmed that “barring exceptional circumstances,” the trial will proceed, with or without a lawyer representing him.

“If they are not going to be representing you at trial, you are going to be on your own,” Chartier said. “The administration of justice has to move on at one point. That’s just how it works.”

Ahmed remains in custody.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca