A man on trial for second-degree murder in a stabbing outside a downtown Victoria bar two years ago said in a 911 call he made shortly after the incident that he had stabbed someone, but was acting in self-defence.
Mohamed Daud Omar, 29, is on trial in B.C. Supreme Court for the second-degree murder of 30-year-old John Dickinson in the early hours of March 1, 2022.
Kuzivakwashe Mujakachi, a police call-taker for E-Comm, which handles 911 calls, testified Thursday that there was a flurry of calls about the stabbing.
One call came from someone who said he had just gotten into an altercation with someone at a club downtown.
In a recording of the six-minute call, which was played in court, the caller identifies himself as Mohamed Omar and says he got into a fight with somebody outside a bar.
“What happened? How did that end?” Mujakachi asks in the recording.
“Somebody got stabbed,” the caller says.
“And were you the one that did the stabbing?” Mujakachi asks calmly.
“Yeah I did,” the caller responds.
The caller gives his location as 320 Henry St. and tells Mujakachi he is outside alone.
He says he dropped the knife outside the bar and has no weapons on him.
The caller says he’s going to walk to a nearby plaza, because he doesn’t want police outside the Airbnb where he is staying.
“Do you know the person that was stabbed?” Mujakachi asks.
The caller says no.
“Any reason why you stabbed him?” she asks.
“It was self-defence,” he says, adding, “The guy was trying to fight me.”
Mujakachi asks where the knife came from.
“My pocket,” the caller says.
The caller’s voice remains calm until another voice is heard. That person can be heard yelling and swearing and the caller’s demeanour appears to change, becoming argumentative as tension escalates.
Const. Glenn Foley testified Thursday that he was the first officer at the Henry Street duplex at 1:55 a.m. and the third voice on the recording is his.
Foley said other officers arrived within seconds and they arranged themselves at the front and back of the duplex with weapons drawn before a man came out of the front door carrying a duffel bag.
Asked if the man he saw that night was in the courtroom, Foley pointed at Omar.
Foley said he told Omar he was under arrest and ordered him to drop the bag. Omar initially dropped the bag and put his hands above his head, but when Foley told him to walk down a set of stairs to the officers, he picked up the bag again.
He refused to get down on the ground, despite officers’ commands, Foley said. An officer fired a Taser at Omar, which incapacitated him.
Crown prosecutors say Dickinson was stabbed twice after an altercation with a man at Lucky Bar. Dickinson died in hospital that same morning.
According to the prosecution’s account, Dickinson had tried to force Omar out of the bar, saying, “He’s gotta go. He can’t be here.”
After security staff separated the two men and escorted Omar out, Dickinson came running out of the bar and grabbed at him, ending up on top of him.
Security staff quickly separated them and Dickinson collapsed, while Omar fled.
The trial continues Friday. Bar staff who witnessed some of the altercation between Omar and Dickinson are expected to testify.
