jail for downtown windsor beating of man who eventually died
a windsor judge was told monday the prosecution had no ...
3 minute read
the exterior of the ontario court of justice building in downtown windsor is shown april 22, 2021.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
a windsor judge was told monday the prosecution had no hard evidence linking the downtown swarming and vicious beating of a young man to his subsequent death.
according to police, jallo el-gasai was in a critical state after suffering life-threatening injuries in a group beating in the early hours of may 27, 2023.
the victim, 26 years old at the time, had been part of a smaller group involved in a confrontation with a larger group outside a chatham street eatery. el-gasai had his shirt torn away and when he ran off he was pursued by a number of individuals from that larger group.
slammed to the ground in an earlier “skirmish,” he was again grabbed and hurled to the pavement at chatham street west and victoria avenue. according to surveillance footage from area businesses, heydar alanuz landed a punch to el-gasai’s head or neck as he was being thrown down a second time, and he landed a few more blows as el-gasai lay motionless on the ground.
“that was a mistake and i regret it,” alanuz told ontario court justice sharon murphy on monday.
originally charged with aggravated assault, alanuz and two co-accused recently pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault causing bodily harm.
the judge sentenced alanuz on monday to 60 days jail, the equivalent of a 90-day sentence based on a standard credit for pre-sentence custody. he was also placed on 18 months probation, handed a 10-year weapons prohibition and ordered to provide a dna sample for a databank police use to help solve crimes.
heydar alanuz of lasalle.is wanted in connection with an erie street east shooting incident may 19
image courtesy windsor police service
/
windsor star
advertisement
alanuz has already served time behind bars well in excess of this week’s jail sentence. while on bail for the downtown beating he was arrested again last may 24 in connection to a shooting incident in the 700 block of erie street east on may 19, 2024.
the charges he faces from that incident are far more serious, the court heard. one of his bail release conditions at the time was to not possess any weapons.
as for the downtown swarming, chase and attack, assistant crown attorney jonathan lall told the court the prosecution “can’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt this resulted in (the victim’s subsequent) death.”
el-gasai was unresponsive when police arrived at the scene. but he came to and his sister drove him home. soon sensing “something wrong,” lall said the sister drove alanuz to hospital where it was determined he had suffered “serious injuries as a result of blows to the head.” he would remain hospitalized for 10 days.
asked outside court, lall told the star “it’s possible” el-gasai’s death four months later was related to what police described as “critical” injuries he suffered in that downtown attack.
“if you had just let him go, you wouldn’t be in the situation you find yourself in today,” justice murphy told alanuz. she described him as an otherwise “highly intelligent” young man who was “intoxicated that night.”
advertisement
lall had asked the judge for a stiffer penalty of 135 days in jail “that sends a message … to young people.
“this is a problem in our downtown core — it’s something that keeps happening in our downtown.”
had the case gone to trial, defence lawyer robert dipietro said the crown would have had challenges proving beyond a reasonable doubt, and getting a conviction on, the original more serious charge of aggravated assault. those involved were “not the greatest of witnesses,” he said, including giving statements at odds with what police and civilian witnesses testified to having seen.
the court proceedings against co-accused lowhya lako and demarcus parker continue.
share story
