A youth has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a 19-year-old who was killed during a confrontation between two groups in Hamilton, Ont., almost three years ago.
The teen, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act since he was 15 when charged, could not be connected to the death of Ali Mohummad at a Limeridge Road West parking lot near Kendale Court on July 19, 2020.
Justice Tony Leitch said the Crown did not produce enough evidence to convict the teen of the crime.
The youth was also acquitted of two counts of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
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Mohummad, Hamilton’s ninth homicide that year, was discovered by a police canine unit hours after an altercation which investigators say involved 20 to 30 people from Hamilton and a number of men from Peel Region who arrived in three cars.
He was one of four hurt in the incident, but the only one who died after the melee.
During the latest trial, a court heard the meeting on Hamilton Mountain was an attempt to resolve “disrespect” between two groups.
The Crown characterized the matter as a “coordinated ambush” that lasted “mere minutes” by one of the groups that travelled to Hamilton from Peel Region.
Counsel for the defendant argued the 2020 meeting was nothing more than a consensual fight and didn’t prove the teen participated.
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Last year, two other teens were found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the same incident.
The pair, 17-year-olds when originally charged with second-degree murder, were convicted in June.
The two were also convicted on two counts of aggravated assault and an assault involving Mohummad’s older brother Hamza Chaudry.
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