Rapper Top5 freed after murder charge stayed
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A Toronto rapper was released from custody on Monday after the Crown stayed a first-degree murder charge against him.
Hassan Ali, known by his rap moniker Top 5, had been charged in the 2021 death of Hashim Omar Hashi, a 20-year-old accounting student.
Hashi was gunned down while attempting to drive his vehicle into the parking garage of his apartment on Jan. 31, 2021, according to Toronto police.
Two weeks later, Ali was arrested in California and charged. He had served three years in custody and was about to undergo trial when the decision was announced Monday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Charges are stayed when a judge or the Crown decides it would be bad for the justice system for the case to continue, and the issue of guilt or innocence is never determined, according to the Community Legal Education of Ontario. The Crown has one year to reopen the case, and if the year passes, the charges can’t be brought back.
The Crown suspended its case against Ali after the judge would not allow his videos or social media posts to be used as evidence in the trial. Prosecutors argued the shooting was gang-related and that Ali was behind the plot.
Ali’s lawyer, Gary Grill, told reporters the evidence against his client was “entirely circumstantial.”
CBC has reached out to Ontario’s Attorney General’s office, but has not yet heard back.
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