Opening Statements To Begin In Mpls. Triple Slaying

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Osman Jama Elmi was manning the family corner store on a cold January night, chatting with a cousin who stopped to say hello, when two people wearing masks entered.

Within moments, Elmi, his cousin and a customer were dead, shot multiple times and lying in pools of blood.

Opening statements are expected Monday in the trial of Mahdi Hassan Ali, an 18-year-old charged with murder, in a case that rocked the local Somali community, the nation's largest.

"They were the future of the community, people who were going to school, tending the store, trying to make ends meet," said Saeed Fahia, executive director of Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota. "Everybody felt that someone in the family died."

Ali faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on three counts of premeditated first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he and an accomplice went to Seward Market and Halal Meat to rob it, but Ali had a gun and began firing when a customer interrupted his demands for cash.

His attorney, Frederick Goetz, intends to argue that authorities got the wrong guy. In a court document, Goetz wrote that part of his defense could include evidence of mistaken identity, and that another person had talked about being part of the crime. Goetz plans to call that person as a witness.

"The state has to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," Goetz said last week. "And we believe, at the end of the day, the proof will not be there, particularly as to the identity of the perpetrator."

The victims were Elmi, 28, of St. Paul; Mohamed Abdi Warfa, 30, of Savage; and Anwar Salah Mohammed, 31, of Brooklyn Park.

Family members say Elmi, who was known in the community as Abdifatah Warfa, was working at the store and his cousin, Mohamed Abdi Warfa, was visiting. Both men are of Somali descent. Mohammed, who was Oromo, was a customer.

According to authorities and details in the criminal complaint, Mahdi Hassan Ali and another teen, Ahmed Shire Ali, walked into the market at about 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2010 wearing masks. Ahmed Ali went toward the back of the store and tried to rob two customers, while Mahdi Ali ordered Elmi and Warfa to come in front of the cash register and get on the ground.

Video surveillance, which did not record audio, shows Mahdi Ali appearing to demand money from Elmi and Warfa. Witnesses told police they heard him yell, "This is a robbery."

The video shows Mohammed then entering the store and interrupting the robbery. Mahdi Ali immediately turned and shot him. The video shows Mahdi Ali running from the store. Warfa tried to follow but fell to the ground near the entrance, shot by Mahdi Ali, the complaint said.

The video shows Ahmed Ali fleeing, passing Mohammed and Warfa.

Mahdi Ali then ran back into the store, and chased down and shot Elmi as he attempted to make a cell phone call. As Mahdi Ali left the store a second time, he fired another shot into Mohammed, the complaint said.

The complaint said Ahmed Ali admitted he and Mahdi Ali -- who are not related -- had planned a robbery at the store but that Mahdi shot all three victims. He told police he didn't have a weapon but that he kept customers in the back of the store from interfering. The two customers were later found hiding in a freezer.

Ahmed Ali pleaded guilty in April 2010 to multiple counts of attempted aggravated robbery. He agreed to an 18-year prison sentence as part of his plea deal, but his attorney, Paul Edlund, says he will serve 12 years with credit for good time.

Ahmed Ali is listed as a witness for prosecutors.

"He still feels awful for what happened to the victims and their families," Edlund said. "He doesn't look forward to testifying, but he does plan on being honest."

Mahdi Ali's age has also been an issue leading up to the trial. Prosecutors say both Mahdi Ali and Ahmed Ali were 17 at the time of the killings, but Goetz has argued that Mahdi Ali was only 15 and should not be tried in adult court.

Goetz has said Mahdi Ali's legal birthdate was fabricated to get the boy to the U.S. As the case proceeded to trial, dental X-rays were ordered to try to prove Mahdi Ali's age. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled he would stand trial in adult court.

The killings, the city's first triple murder since 1996, are of high interest to local Somalis. Some say they plan to attend the trial to see the court process play out.

Minneapolis Police Sgt. Bill Palmer said cooperation from the Somali community was extremely important in this case, and that many people from the community came forward.

A number of Somali murders have gone without convictions in recent years as witnesses have backed out of testifying, but this case was different, Fahia said. He said that may be because the murders were brazen and there was a sense of innocence lost in a mostly stable urban neighborhood. A lack of gang involvement may have made people less afraid to talk to police, he added.

Fahia and Mohamed Hassan, another community leader, both said the killings ended the lives of entrepreneurs who contributed to the economy, but it also ruined the lives of the two teens. They want justice, but see the case as a tragedy all around.

"The kids could have been saved, and could have been the future of this state," Hassan said. "I don't think we are born evil. I think we are all born innocent and nice, but some way, somehow along the road, something happens."

Faysal Warfa, the store owner and brother of Elmi, said he left the market just 30 minutes before the murders happened. "I loved him," he said of Elmi.

Warfa said he saw some of the jury selection last week, and plans to attend every day of the trial -- expected to last two weeks.

"We trust the system," he said. "And also we just wait for the final decision."

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)