Mahdi Hassan Ali
Kenyan-born Mahdi Ali will undergo dental x-rays in an attempt to determine his age at the time he allegedly shot and killed three men during an attempted robbery at a south Minneapolis convenience store in January. Minneapolis, MN – Mahdi Ali will undergo dental x-rays in an attempt to determine his age at the time he allegedly shot and killed three men during an attempted robbery at a south Minneapolis convenience store in January.
Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill on Thursday granted county prosecutors’ motion for the x-rays — a motion with which the defense agreed.
Defense lawyer Frederick Goetz told Cahill on Thursday that Ali was born in Kenya on Aug. 25, 1995, making him 15 at the time of the killings, not 16 as prosecutors have said. Goetz has argued that Ali’s previously stated birthday was a guess.
The difference will determine whether he is tried as an adult or as a juvenile, and could ultimately determine whether he spends the rest of his life in prison. At 16, defendants can automatically be tried as adults for first-degree murder. Mahdi Ali is charged with first-degree premeditated murder. If he was at least 16 and is convicted of that crime, the presumptive sentence would be life without release.
Age is the major issue in the high-profile case for now, and a hearing is scheduled Aug. 3 that may include witnesses testifying for Ali on video from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Both Ali and his friend Ahmed Ali, now 18, were indicted in February on six murder counts in the deaths of three men at Seward Market on East Franklin Avenue in January. Mahdi Ali, who Goetz has argued is actually named Khalid Arrasi, is the alleged triggerman. Case documents allege he can be seen clearly on store video ordering two men to the floor then shooting them and a customer who walked in.
On Tuesday, Ahmed Ali pleaded guilty in deal that could see him released near his 30th birthday. He didn’t have a gun and was in the back of the store attempting to rob customers when Mahdi Ali shot the others, according to documents and his own comments. He is expected to cooperate with the prosecution of Mahdi Ali as part of the deal.
Cahill told Goetz and prosecutors Bob Streitz and Chuck Weber to present briefs on the age issue on May 13 and responses by May 27. Cahill wants to know what burden of proof should be used in determining how old Ali is.
Streitz told the judge prosecutors are likely to oppose video testimony from South Africa.
Goetz said after the hearing that his client was born in a Somali refugee camp in Kenya, then given to an aunt and uncle who raised him until his mother was healthy enough to take care of him. The woman with whom he has lived in Minnesota and who was believed to be his grandmother is actually his mother, according to genetic tests, Goetz said.
Another reason Mahdi Ali’s age is important is that the U.S. Supreme Court is pondering whether it’s constitutional to sentence a 15-year-old to life without the possibility of release. Cahill, however, noted the high court is expected to decide that matter before July 1 – long before Ali’s trial.
Killed in the shootings were Anwar Salah Mohammed, Mohamed Abdi Warfa and Osman Jama Elmi.
Comments