Pre-trial inquiry for shooting death being planned

A 30-year-old man charged in connection with a shooting death in the city a year ago is getting ready to have for a preliminary inquiry.

During a brief hearing Monday in Lethbridge provincial court, the judge was told the Crown and defence need to first schedule a pre-trial conference so they can find a suitable date for the inquiry, determine how much time will be required, and discuss trial issues. Counsel hopes to have the pre-trial conference and a date for the preliminary inquiry by the time the accused, Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe returns to court later this month.

A pre-trial inquiry is typically held to present evidence before the judge and determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial.

Dhiblawe is charged with one count of seconddegree murder, stemming from a shooting 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. 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.

The suspect fled before police arrived, but Dhiblawe was arrested March 6 during an unrelated drug bust at a residence in Regina, Sask.

Dhiblawe, who is from Toronto and is currently in custody at the Regina Correctional Centre, was temporarily brought back to Alberta shortly after he was arrested.

He 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.