Accused testifies in Whyte Ave. bar fight manslaughter case

22-year-old claims victim hit him first and that he struck back in self-defence

A man accused of punching an acquaintance outside a Whyte Avenue bar, causing the other man’s death, told court Tuesday the victim struck him in the neck first.

Kyle Ashton, 22, is on trial for manslaughter in connection to the death of Raad Hamza, 24, on Dec. 20, 2014.

While giving evidence Tuesday, Ashton said he thought Hamza was angry at him because, as they were leaving Billiard Club near Whyte Avenue and 105 Street, Ashton told another friend he didn’t want to go to an after-party with Hamza.

On surveillance video shown in court, Ashton and Hamza walk out of the bar and move off to one side of the entrance, putting them near the edge of the video frame.

The footage is in black and white, with a fisheye lens, and Crown prosecutor John Watson and Ashton dispute some of what happens next: Watson said Hamza pushed Ashton away from him, but Ashton told the court he thought Hamza struck him in the neck. Then Ashton hits Hamza, who drops to the ground.

Ashton testified he fell down on top of Hamza, while Watson argues he climbed on top of him and hit Hamza additional times. Ashton testified he doesn’t have a good memory of the evening.

In the video, Ashton gets up and walks toward Whyte Avenue, where he hails a cab.

“I got kind of scared,” Ashton told the court.

Ashton left the scene and turned himself in to police a few days later.

During cross-examination, Watson asked Ashton why, if Hamza was angry and Ashton didn’t want to be around him anymore, he didn’t walk away, or ask the nearby bouncers for assistance.

Watson put it to Ashton that he was angry with Hamza when he threw the punch.

Ashton said he was trying to calm Hamza down, and didn’t want him to be “offended.”

In his closing argument, Ashton’s lawyer, Ashok Gill, argued the relevant acts from the night Hamza died span a window of two to four seconds, and the video evidence isn’t clear enough to prove what happened beyond a reasonable doubt.

He also questioned the cause of Hamza’s injuries, and said it’s not possible to see exactly what happens in the video.

An autopsy report found trauma to Hamza’s face and head caused his death.

In his own closing argument, Watson argued Ashton throwing the punch was not justified, and doesn’t meet the standard of selfdefence.

“At that point, all the accused had to do was walk away,” Watson said.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Beverly Browne will deliver her verdict April 5.

At that point, all the accused had to do was walk away. JOHN WATSON, Crown prosecutor