King found not guilty in shooting death of Brock student Al-Hasnawi
Carrying a loaded handgun, King said he acted in self-defence
Dale King fired the shot that killed Yosif Al-Hasnawi, but is not guilty of second-degree murder, a Hamilton jury has decided. They found King acted in self-defence.
Al-Hasnawi wasn’t armed, but in the seconds before King pulled the trigger on his .22calibre handgun, King said he believed his then-best friend James Matheson was about to be stabbed. Al-Hasnawi, a 19year-old Brock University student with his family at a Main Street East mosque, was chasing the pair after he was punched in the head during a confrontation.
Just minutes shy of 24 hours after beginning deliberations, the sixman, six-woman jury announced the not guilty verdict before a packed Hamilton courtroom.
The jury had three choices — not guilty, manslaughter or second-degree murder.
When the jury foreman said “not guilty,” King put his hands to his face and cried.
“I think Dale feels very relieved,” defence attorney Jonathan Shime said outside court. “It has been a long couple of years for him. He’s relieved that the jury listened.”
When Amal Alzurufi, Al-Hasnawi’s mom, heard the verdict she sat in silence, staring ahead. She attended court every day during the trial, listening to the agonizing details of her oldest child’s final moments.
“She’s quite upset,” said Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk of the Hamilton police major crime unit. She was too devastated to speak after the decision.
Bereziuk said he was disappointed in the verdict, but noted that the “citizens of Hamilton have spoken.”
“With jury trials, we really don’t ever know how its going to go. We try to present the best case possible ... when it gets in
court in front of a jury it’s into their hands not ours.”
Al-Hasnawi was called a “Good Samaritan” by police after the shooting because he was trying to help a man on the street that night whom Matheson was mocking.
Outside court, defence attorney Owen Goddard expressed condolences to the Al-Hasnawi, but said he wasn’t surprised by the verdict because it was supported by the evidence.
“This verdict represents that the evidence showed, clearly, that Mr. King was acting in self-defence,” he said. “He only did what he did because he feared for his life and for the life of his friend.”
Court heard the onus was on the Crown to disprove self-defence. The jury was also told that even if someone intends to kill, it can still be legally self-defence.
During the trial the defence called just one witness — King — who testified over two days.
King, who is Indigenous, had a difficult life including being abused and removed from his home as a toddler. He was homeless, crashing with friends, using and selling crystal meth.
At just 21, he has a lengthy criminal record. But the jury did not hear about his five assault convictions after Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman ruled they were inadmissible, in part, because of stereotypes against Indigenous people and the impacts of an overrepresentation in the justice system.
The Crown had urged the jury to find King guilty of second-degree murder, arguing that the fatal shooting was the culmination of a series of bad choices King made. Prosecutor Gord Akilie argued it wasn’t reasonable that King said he believed Al-Hasnawi had a knife.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2017, Al-Hasnawi, his then-13year-old brother and two friends were taking a break outside the mosque when Matheson and King walked by across the street. King was carrying his loaded handgun and they were headed to the Budget Inn where King was going to sell meth.
Matheson made fun of an “old guy” walking unsteadily ahead of them and Al-Hasnawi called out to stop. Matheson and King crossed the street and King and Al-Hasnawi began to talk. It started out civil, but within two minutes King flashed his gun. The Crown said Al-Hasnawi
asked if they were going to jump the old guy. King told the jury Al-Hasnawi also said something about liking to jump people and weapons. Al-Hasnawi has his hands in his pockets.
King said he pulled the gun in warning, saying he didn’t want to use it. Al-Hasnawi responded something like: “you think I’m afraid of you because you have a gun?”
Matheson “sucker punched” AlHasnawi and he and King ran away. All of the witnesses who were there said Al-Hasnawi gave chase.
As the men ran up Sanford Avenue South, Al-Hasnawi nearly caught Matheson with some witnesses saying he grabbed Matheson’s hood.
King, who testified he thought his friend was about to be stabbed, turned and fired. One bullet struck Al-Hasnawi near his belly button.
Matheson was charged with accessory after the fact to murder, but pleaded guilty to obstruct justice in a plea deal that King’s defence team called a “get out of jail free card.”
Court also heard that two paramedics, accused of not believing Al-Hasnawi had been shot, are charged separately with failing to provide the necessaries of life. Their trial starts in January.
The jury was also told that even if someone intends to kill, it can still be legally self-defence.