Teen brothers accused in gang-related murder see charges dropped after social media video surfaces
CBC
Charges have been dropped against two teen brothers accused in a gang-related fatal shooting last week after a social media video of the shooter surfaced.
A 14-year-old Calgary boy faced charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder while his 18-year-old brother was charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
"There's video evidence that in my mind conclusively shows the two individuals were not the individuals who committed the offence," said the younger brother's lawyer, Jim Lutz, following the stay Tuesday morning.
"I suspect [the Crown] re-evaluated the case based on that video."
Neither of the brothers are being named in order to comply with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which protects the identity of the younger sibling.
Last Monday, Nov. 13, Rami Hajj Ali was fatally shot while sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot of the Trans Canada Centre mall.
The younger brother also faced two counts of attempted murder after two others — a man and woman — were injured in the shooting. Those charges were also stayed by the Crown.
One week after the brothers were charged, prosecutors Janice Walsh and Heather Morris appeared in court directing stays of proceedings. The brothers have been in custody since their arrest.
The Crown declined to comment on the reasons the charges were dropped.
Andrea Urquhart, the lawyer for the older teen, said her client "has maintained his innocence along with the innocence of his little brother since the moment he was arrested."
"He is grateful to the Calgary prosecutor for staying his charge and looks forward to understanding how this could have happened."
When charges were announced, police said they'd arrested the brothers after receiving "valuable information from witnesses" about the suspects.
After locating a black truck speeding away from the scene, police say they used their HAWCS helicopter to follow the vehicle, which was abandoned in the parking lot of the Chinook Mall.
Two people got into a vehicle and then "fled" to two homes about 10 kilometres away in the southeast neighbourhood of Southview.