Al-Hasnawi killing: Man gets time served for obstructing justice

James Matheson was not the shooter, ‘he is not a murderer,’ Crown says

JAMES MATHESON and Dale King were friends for many years before the fateful night of Dec. 2, 2017, when — after drinking and consuming and selling drugs — they encountered Yosif Al-Hasnawi on a Main Street East sidewalk.

A minutes-long encounter began when Al-Hasnawi told them to stop harassing a man on the street and ended with King firing one hollow-tip bullet from his .22-calibre Derringer Magnum stainless handgun with a pearl white handle, according to an agreed statement of facts presented in court.

Al-Hasnawi, who had been attending a religious celebration with family that night and aspired to become a doctor, was hit in the abdomen and would be dead an hour later.

The now 21-year-old Matheson pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and was sentenced to time served in a Hamilton courtroom Tuesday.

He was given credit for 13 months served in pretrial custody.

King has yet to stand trial. Matheson was also sentenced to two years probation.

It was a joint submission by the defence and Crown in court Tuesday.

Details of the plea had been covered under an unusual publication ban after Matheson was released on bail Aug. 20. That ban was lifted Tuesday allowing details in the agreed statement to be reported.

Matheson, now sober, working and rebuilding relationships with his girlfriend and daughter, is expected to be the star witness in King’s second-degree murder trial. He already spent three days testifying at King’s preliminary hearing.

The crux of the case against Matheson are the text messages he sent King warning that police were coming — “It’s happening Dale they’re here” and “disappear.”

Matheson did not have a gun that night, but knew King did because they had researched the purchase together and King routinely showed it off, court heard.

It was Matheson who was mocking a man on the street, near Cadillac Jax Bar & Grill.

The man walked unsteadily and Matheson thought he was drunk.

Al-Hasnawi was across the street with one of his brothers and two friends outside the Al-Moustafa Islamic Centre and called out for them to leave the man alone.

Matheson and King turned their attention to Al-Hasnawi and crossed the street.

Al-Hasnawi asked if they were going to “jump” the man and King flashed his handgun tucked in his pants, according to the agreed statement of facts. Matheson “sucker punched” Al-Hasnawi a few times before the pair ran off.

Al-Hasnawi chased after them as they crossed the street and went up Sanford Avenue South. It was just before 9 p.m. and Matheson, who was trailing King, yelled out: “this kid is fast” and suggested they stop and fight.

That’s when Matheson says King turned and fired one shot. Matheson saw Al-Hasnawi lift up his shirt and pat down his stomach before running off.

King and Matheson went in different directions, with Matheson taking a “circuitous route” to his Grant Avenue apartment, where he changed and threw out his sweater. He told his girlfriend what happened.

Later that night, he met up with another friend nicknamed “Traffic” at a Main Street East bar, where King later joined them. They spoke about the shooting. They moved on to another bar and then two residences where they consumed crystal methamphetamine.

King was bragging about the shooting, Matheson said in the agreed statement of facts.

King had dumped the gun in a gravel parking lot near King Street East and Sanford, but went back and retrieved it the next day, court heard. That gun was later stolen during a robbery.

Matheson was ultimately arrested in his apartment on Dec. 4 after his girlfriend called the police. Minutes before his early morning arrest, he sent the warning text messages.

Police wouldn’t find King until Dec. 7.

“James Matheson was there. He knew the shooter had a gun. He punched Yosif several times before running away. And he eventually text-messaged the shooter to help him evade police,” said Crown attorney Brian Adsett.

“But he was not the shooter, and he is not a murderer.”

Matheson was initially charged with accessory after the fact to murder, but that charge was withdrawn for the obstructing justice plea — a charge the prosecution said “more accurately captures” the crime.

In a victim impact statement by Al-Hasnawi’s mom Amal Alzurufi, read by Adsett, she said her son’s death has forever changed her.

“I think of my son almost every minute,” she said, adding she fears losing others. “I don’t hold any grudges or anything against you, but I do ask you to think of what you did and try to make better choices.”

Al-Hasnawi’s mom, dad and one of his brothers were in court Tuesday. As was Matheson’s girlfriend.

Matheson’s lawyer Jordana Goldlist told the court her client is “truly taking steps to turn his life around.”

Outside court, she added Matheson “feels absolute remorse for the entire family,” and is using his rerelease into society as a “steppingstone” to improve himself.

Ontario Court Justice Martha Zivolak accepted his remorse. His “initial cowardice, panic and misguided loyalty” is now “contradicted” by his co-operation with the prosecution, she said.

“Good luck,” she told Matheson. Other related cases remain before the courts.

Two paramedics, Steven Snively and Christopher Marchant, accused of not properly treating Al-Hasnawi, are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life. They have also been fired.

Witnesses, including family members who rushed to Al-Hasnawi’s side, said paramedics said the 19year-old was faking. First responders and some witnesses thought he had been shot with a BB gun.

The unprecedented case against the paramedics, along with a civil case, also remain before the courts.

A Special Investigations Unit investigation into the conduct of the police officers who responded that night is also ongoing.

Matheson, now sober, working and rebuilding relationships with his girlfriend and daughter, is expected to be the star witness in King’s second-degree murder trial.