Prosecutor says verdict is proof that justice can be done, even when getting witnesses to testify is difficult
A 23-year-old Richfield man was found guilty Friday in Hennepin County District Court of what police said was a misdirected revenge killing outside a south Minneapolis mall that is popular with Somali immigrants.
A jury convicted Hassan Mohamed Abdillahi of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Abdishakur Adan Hassan, of Minneapolis, on Sept. 29 at the Village Market Mall.
According to the charges, Abdillahi wanted revenge for the April 2008 shooting death in Minneapolis of his cousin, but because he believed the shooter had fled the country, he killed that man's friend instead.
Hassan was at the mall at 912 E. 24th St. to get a haircut on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. At about 9 p.m., he was standing outside the back of the mall with two male friends when Abdillahi, wearing a hood, approached the group, the charges said.
Abdillahi shot Hassan in the chest, according to the charges. Hassan died there. Surveillance cameras from the mall captured the shooting.
It's a cycle of violence that Hassan's sister, Deka Hassan, said likely won't end soon, but the conviction of the man she said murdered her brother in cold blood shows that Somalis and their families will not be intimidated.
"I feel so sick, my voice has changed because every night I cry for my brother," she said, minutes after hugging prosecutors and calling family members with news of the verdict. "My family didn't want to come here because they're scared of him. I'm not scared. I came here every day."
Old grudges and feuds
The killing was part of what authorities and community leaders called a disturbing string of crimes in the Somali community. Outrage flared again last month when second-degree murder charges against 17-year-old Ramadan Shiekh Osman were dropped. That happened after witnesses recanted their statements about what they saw the night a 20-year-old Augsburg College student Ahmednur Ali was shot and killed. That killing happened seven days before Hassan's.
Prosecutors also encountered difficulty with witnesses for Abdillahi's two-week trial, said Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Pete Connors.
"Witnesses wouldn't cooperate; witnesses didn't come forward; witnesses had to be arrested," Connors said. "And despite being arrested, one witness still would not testify. The witnesses that did testify showed great courage."
Three community members eventually took the stand. Connors said a conviction would have been nearly impossible without a surveillance video that captured the shooting.
An airtight alibi
Abdillahi's defense attorney, Ira Whitlock, decried the conviction as "a travesty of justice."
"I respect our system, but I'm frustrated and angry for this young man," said Whitlock, who said he will appeal if retained by Abdillahi's family to do so.
Whitlock maintained that his client had an airtight alibi -- that he was with family, not at the mall. Family members testified to that, and Whitlock said he was mystified that the jury rejected their claim.
"All of these family members who have no criminal history lied to protect a murderer," Whitlock said. "That's what the jury had to believe, and that's just wrong."
Whitlock said his client was framed because of ongoing feuds between Somali gangs that stretch back to politics and tribal disputes in their homeland. Abdillahi is not a gang member, Whitlock said.
Despite her relief, Deka Hassan knows the verdict will not bring back her brother, who played video games and sports with her 8-year-old son. She said her son is scared to play outside, and she won't tread close to the Somali mall where her brother was killed.
"I never go. I would like to go," she said. "The killing ... we have to stop it."
Abdillahi's sentencing was scheduled for July 21.
Connors, the prosecutor, said he couldn't predict whether the conviction will slow the violence in the community. But he said the verdict sends a positive message.
"At least people will know that justice can be done," he said.
Abby Simons • 612-673-4921
Prosecutors also encountered difficulty with witnesses for Abdillahi's two-week trial, said Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Pete Connors.
"Witnesses wouldn't cooperate; witnesses didn't come forward; witnesses had to be arrested," Connors said. "And despite being arrested, one witness still would not testify. The witnesses that did testify showed great courage."
Three community members eventually took the stand. Connors said a conviction would have been nearly impossible without a surveillance video that captured the shooting.
An airtight alibi
Abdillahi's defense attorney, Ira Whitlock, decried the conviction as "a travesty of justice."
"I respect our system, but I'm frustrated and angry for this young man," said Whitlock, who said he will appeal if retained by Abdillahi's family to do so.
Whitlock maintained that his client had an airtight alibi -- that he was with family, not at the mall. Family members testified to that, and Whitlock said he was mystified that the jury rejected their claim.
"All of these family members who have no criminal history lied to protect a murderer," Whitlock said. "That's what the jury had to believe, and that's just wrong."
Whitlock said his client was framed because of ongoing feuds between Somali gangs that stretch back to politics and tribal disputes in their homeland. Abdillahi is not a gang member, Whitlock said.
Despite her relief, Deka Hassan knows the verdict will not bring back her brother, who played video games and sports with her 8-year-old son. She said her son is scared to play outside, and she won't tread close to the Somali mall where her brother was killed.
"I never go. I would like to go," she said. "The killing ... we have to stop it."
Abdillahi's sentencing was scheduled for July 21.
Connors, the prosecutor, said he couldn't predict whether the conviction will slow the violence in the community. But he said the verdict sends a positive message.
"At least people will know that justice can be done," he said.
Abby Simons • 612-673-4921
Source: Star Tribune
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