Dhiblawe murder case adjourned to Feb. 8

A 30-year-old man arrested last March after being sought on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with the city’s first murder of 2020 will be back in court early next month.

The matter for Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe of Toronto, who is currently in custody at the Regina Correctional Centre, was briefly addressed Monday in Lethbridge provincial court. An agent for the accused's lawyer said defence was finally prepared to move ahead following delays the last several weeks while the Crown assigned to the matter was ill and Dhiblawe's lawyer was involved in a trial.

The agent requested a short adjournment to Feb. 8 to allow time for defence to continue discussing the case with the Crown.

Dhiblawe, who was temporarily brought back to Alberta shortly after he was arrested March 6 during an unrelated drug bust at a residence in Regina, Sask., is charged one count of seconddegree murder in connection with a man's death last February in Lethbridge.

Just after 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, 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. The body was transported to the Calgary medical examiner's office, where an autopsy confirmed the manner of death. The identity of the victim has not been released.

Police said Dhiblawe and his victim knew each other, and following a verbal dispute over drugs, the victim was fatally shot.

Dhiblawe is also charged in connection with a murder in Edmonton on Feb. 8 of last year.

Mihamed Ahmed Makaran, 32, was shot and killed in an apartment suite on McConachie Boulevard.

Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter