A two-year-old criminal case connecting the murder of an Ottawa teen to a Carleton law student has begun trial this week.
On Dec. 6, 2010, 16-year-old Yazdan Ghiasi was shot after a drug deal for $15,000-worth of marijuana. Three men have been charged in connection with the murder, including second-year Carleton law student Abdulhamid Wehbe, according to media reports.
Wehbe, charged with manslaughter, testified in his own defence last week.
He said he had no idea his cousin didn’t intend to pay for the drugs, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
Wehbe’s version of events, first heard during his testimony on Feb. 6, had that he drove his cousin to the Booth Street house to buy drugs, but didn’t realize he intended to rob Ghiasi, according to the Citizen.
After the shooting, Ghiasi’s body was left on the street. Wehbe got into the car and drove away from the scene with his cousin, according to Wehbe’s testimony.
“That’s when things started to fall apart. I started to panic,” he testified, according to the Citizen. His testimony ended after he recounted turning himself in to the police on the night of the death.
According to a CBC report, Wehbe’s lawyer attempted to get the manslaughter charges thrown out, claiming that the 22-year-old was inside the house at the time Ghiasi was shot in the car.
Ontario Superior Court Judge Hugh Fraser refused to dismiss the charges, and said the trial would continue.
“The evidence suggests Abdulhamid Wehbe knew of the plot,” said Fraser, according to the CBC.
Wehbe is currently out on bail and living with his grandparents, while Mohammed Wehbe is wanted across the country and thought to currently be in Syria, according to the Citizen.
The trial is ongoing.
