In this case, the judge acknowledged that while the evidence shows Ali, 26, “goads and threatens ... and celebrates the deaths” of gang members based where Hashi was killed, “the probative value of the evidence is outweighed by the prejudicial effect.”
The evidence “portrays Mr. Ali as a violent gang member with little regard for human life and who revels in the senseless killing of others. The risk that a jury will misuse this evidence and convict Mr. Ali because of his disposition is significant,” Shreck wrote in a 38-page decision.
The Crown’s theory was that Ali is a member of a street gang called the Go Getem Gang, or GGG, and the murder was part of an ongoing rivalry between his gang and the rival Falstaff Marke Gang, a group operating in the area where the murder took place. Ali denies belonging to a gang and says any GGG references in his videos or social media communications are references to his record label — not a gang. (The Crown acknowledged the GGG is a record label, but takes the position that it is also a street gang.)
That January evening, the shooter emerged from the front passenger seat of a Honda Civic that had been circling the area. The Crown alleged the occupants were looking for someone to kill. Also in the vehicle was the driver and a third man sitting in the rear seat. Prosecutors alleged Ali was in the backseat. The identity of the shooter and driver are still unknown.
Hashi was not a member of any gang but the Crown alleged he was killed because he was in Falstaff gang territory.
The judge emphasized that his decision on admissibility “is not based on any finding that the evidence does not support the inferences the Crown seeks to have drawn. To the contrary, in my view, it does support those inferences. That is why the evidence is so prejudicial.”
For example, Schreck noted there is no question Ali “has a strong animus towards the Falstaff Marke Gang and its members. He repeatedly goads and threatens members of the gang in his videos and on social media and celebrates the deaths of its members.”
Yet the evidence “does not support the conclusion that Mr. Ali or any members of the GGG have any animus towards non-gang members living in the area or any intention of harming them.”
During the call, immediately after discussing his court case, Ali referred to a lyric from one of his songs, “Larry out of the car, take his life.” He then said he remembers “that night” and that he and others were at a recording studio, and that he said “Let’s go” to them.
Given that the person who killed Hashi came out of a car and given that there was evidence that Mr. Ali was at a recording studio that night, the Crown submits that this can be interpreted as some sort of acknowledgement of his role in the homicide. (Grill argued the comments were ambiguous and open to more than one interpretation.)
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