Is Gunni Hassen a convicted killer who hid his secret life as a drug dealer behind a cloak of normalcy and volunteer work, or a “good guy” who fell under the sway of criminal influences?
“The interesting question here is: Who is the real Gunni Hassen?” King’s Bench Justice Chris Martin said at a recent sentencing hearing.
Martin convicted Hassen last fall of second-degree murder in the February 2022 shooting death of a drug-dealing gang rival, 30-year-old Abdulwasi Ahmed.
THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES/John Woods
Court heard evidence at trial that the two gangs had been sparring over drug dealing and there had been “tit-for-tat violence and killings” since 2019.
Court was told Hassen and other members of his gang were doing dial-
a-dealer drug sales, packaging crack cocaine in a McDermot Avenue apartment suite, before two caretakers there would drive them to drug deals.
Hassen and another gang member were being driven to a drug deal when he heard a rival gang, which included Ahmed, was downtown.
He told the caretaker to drive them to Fort Street, where he and the other gang member got out and soon came upon Ahmed and four other men. At that point, shooting broke out.
In his 35-page decision, the judge said it’s not known whether it was Hassen or Ahmed who fired first, “but this was something (Hassen) prepared for; something he instigated, going where he went, armed as he was.”
Hassen’s fellow gangster was shot and wounded by Ahmed. Hassen shot Ahmed in the forehead and took off. He was arrested a month later.
Prosecutors are urging Martin to sentence Hassen to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole for 20 years.
Hassen, 25 at the time of the shooting, came to Canada as an Eritrean refugee when he was 11 years old, Crown attorney Libby Standil told court.
Despite his chaotic early life, Hassen “did quite well academically and socially,” Standil said.
At the time of his arrest, Hassen was working for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, where he was previously a volunteer, and was exploring a career as a firefighter.
Support letters provided to court described Hassen as a “community-minded person” who “lost his way for a time.” In a pre-sentence report, Hassen’s case worker said he was “always friendly” and a “pleasure” to have on her caseload.
But those plaudits were a smokescreen obscuring the real Hassen, Standil argued.
“His persona with others was far different than the life he was living,” Standil said. “He is able to put on a pro-social persona, but the Crown says that is by design. He puts on a mask for family, friends and colleagues… (but) once you pull back the curtain, the reality is he’s not actually of such good character.”
While in custody, Hassen has allegedly been involved in drug dealing, assaulting another inmate and other infractions, and repeatedly violated a court order he not contact a co-accused, Standil said.
Defence lawyer Evan Roitenberg argued Hassen fell into a lifestyle “that he wasn’t proud of” and hid it from friends, family and co-workers out of shame.
“Mr. Hassen can be the solid member of his family, the solid friend, the solid volunteer… and still have fallen prey to the lure of easy money and the siren song of some undesirable acquaintances,” Roitenberg said. “Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. People are complex.”
Roitenberg recommended Hassen be allowed to apply for parole after serving 12 years in prison.
“Nobody is suggesting he get out right away and that he not serve a life sentence,” he told Martin.
The 20-year period of parole ineligibility recommended by the Crown “is for somebody really beyond redemption and not deserving of a chance. I am suggesting to you Mr. Hassen is not that person.”
Hassen will return to court for sentencing Jan. 16.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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