Three of four men who had been charged in four violent home invasions in the Northeast Avalon last year will now only face charges for two of the crimes, while the fourth man will face charges for just one.
The decision to dismiss dozens of charges was announced today in provincial court in St. John’s by Crown prosecutor Alana Dwyer during her final arguments in the trial of Gary Hennessey, Mitchell Nippard, Tyler Donahue and Abdifatah Mohamed.
Dwyer acknowledged there has not been enough evidence presented at the trial to convict all four men in relation to reported home invasions on Feb. 3, 2017, at Fourth Street in Mount Pearl and Feb. 4 on Mount Royal Avenue in St. John’s.
“We are not seeking convictions for the Feb. 3 and 4 (home invasions in 2017) ...,” Dwyer told Judge Mike Madden. “There is no reasonable likelihood for conviction.”
Dwyer also dismissed charges against Donohue in connection with the reported home invasion on Milton Road in Paradise on Feb. 8, 2017, again noting there wasn’t enough evidence against him.
Hennessey and Nippard will still face charges relating to the Milton Road home invasion, as well as the Feb. 9, 2017, home invasion on Angels Road in Paradise, while Donahue — the only one of the four who had been granted bail — will remain charged on the Angels Road home invasion.
In the Fourth Street incident, a man living in the basement apartment had testified that when he answered a knock on the door, three masked men came in and took two rings off his fingers, put a gun in his mouth and a pillowcase over his head, and took his PlayStation, controllers and about $700 in cash.
Two dogs were shot during the incident on Mount Royal Avenue. One of the dogs survived, but was badly injured. Police also discovered four ziplock bags of cocaine and bags of marijuana inside backpacks that appeared to have been ditched outside the home.
In the Fourth Street incident, a man living in the basement apartment had testified that when he answered a knock on the door, three masked men came in and took two rings off his fingers, put a gun in his mouth and a pillowcase over his head, and took his PlayStation, controllers and about $700 in cash.
However, Dwyer believes there is still plenty of evidence to convict the men on the remaining charges, noting that while much of the Crown’s evidence is circumstantial, there are significant ties that link the men to the crimes.
In the Milton Road home invasion, the homeowner testified he was in the shed with his father and friend when three masked men burst through the door. He said he was ordered to get on his knees, while the others were made to get face down on the floor. He was hit in the head with a .22-calibre black pistol near the crown of his skull. Blood poured down the side of his head.
After his father and friend were bound with zip ties on their wrists and black tape over their mouths, he was ordered to his feet to lead the masked men into the house.
Inside the house, the men also tied up the man’s girlfriend and his mother with zip ties. The masked men got away with cash and jewelry.
On Angels Road, two masked men entered the home of a pregnant woman and robbed her at gunpoint while her 10-month-old daughter slept.
The men hauled the woman’s engagement ring from her finger and took her XBox. They also took the woman’s iPhone, and unknowingly dialled her fiancé’s number in the process. His friend answered and heard what was going on, and called the police.
Hennessey, Donahue, Nippard and Mohamed were arrested hours later.
Donahue and Mohamed were apprehended after police found a Mazda 3 stuck in a snowbank, the engine still running, on nearby Dawe’s Road, and members of the K9 unit tracked two scents to a wooded area off the C.B.S. Highway. The men were located separately, both sitting under trees. Mohamed was wearing one boot.
Hennessey and Nippard were apprehended after RNC officers stopped their vehicle on Buckingham Drive.
The body of a fifth suspect, Mohamed Salim, was located a month later behind a dump truck in a quarry off the Trans-Canada Highway. It is believed he froze to death while hiding from the police.
Defence lawyers, as well as Mohamed, who is representing himself, are scheduled to present their final arguments this afternoon.
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