TORONTO – The Crown has withdrawn an aggravated assault charge against an Indo-Canadian man who was arrested last year after stabbing an intruder he confronted in his home.
Prosecutor David Fisher told Superior Court on Thursday that after reviewing the evidence, the Crown has concluded there is no reasonable prospect that Moses Mahilal, 29, would be convicted, reported Toronto Star newspaper. Mahilal faced up to 14 years in prison if he had been convicted.
While Mahilal was committed to stand trial after a preliminary hearing, the judge noted there were credibility issues with the Crown’s key witness, Kino Johnson.
Johnson, 33, has admitted he was unlawfully inside the upscale home, near Keele St. and Eglinton Ave. W., when the stabbing occurred just after 3 a.m. on July 31, 2011.
Johnson later pleaded guilty to break and enter, and two counts of possessing stolen property.
Mahilal and his girlfriend Sarah Walsh arrived to the house they share with her mother and confronted Johnson, who was upstairs hiding in her mother’s bedroom as she slept.
Mahilal said he was acting in self-defence and protecting his loved ones when he slashed Johnson three times with a large kitchen knife. Johnson testified Mahilal stabbed him as he tried to flee out a side door.
Johnson has had 14 criminal convictions since 2003, including five break-and-enters.
“It was his evidence the Crown attorney would rely on to support a conviction and if he was not believable then they didn’t have a basis to prosecute,” defence lawyer Daniel Brown said Thursday.
Mahilal said he was relieved the yearlong case is finally over but remains dismayed he was charged in the first place.
