A Yellowknife taxi driver accused of leaving a passenger bloodied and black-eyed following an alleged assault last summer will learn his fate next month.
Matar Mahamed Mahamud pleaded not guilty to one count of assault causing bodily harm, prompting a trial that continued last Friday in territorial court with closing arguments from the Crown and Mahamud's defence.
The charge stems from an altercation that took place between Mahamud – an Aurora Taxi driver who was 48-years-old at the time of the incident – and his passenger and alleged victim, Angus Durrie.
In the early hours of July 24, 2017, an intoxicated Durrie left the Kilt and Castle Pub in downtown Yellowknife and hailed Mahamud's cab, requesting to be taken to a McDonald's restaurant. Once at the fast food location, an argument between the two ensued after Durrie says Mahamud refused to bring him to an ATM machine so he could pay his fare.
Durrie has been vocal about the alleged assault, speaking with media shortly after the incident occurred.
Friday's submissions from Mahamud's lawyer, Paul Falvo, and Crown prosecutor Brendan Green focused on the physical confrontation that followed.
Both Mahamud and Durrie had previously taken the stand to recount their version of events, but Falvo zeroed in on testimony from a civilian witness who observed the struggle.
The witness said she saw Mahamud punch Durrie three times, while Durrie testified he was struck five or six times.
While Falvo called the civilian's testimony “truthful,” he denied that it was reliable, citing the fact that the witness saw the altercation as it was already in progress.
The beginning of the physical confrontation – which ended in both men falling to the ground – wasn't witnessed by the civilian, amounting to another “unknown detail” that Falvo said left the court with an incomplete picture of the incident in question.
Missing details and gaps in testimony – including the unreliable memory of an intoxicated Durrie - means there isn't enough evidence to prove that Mahamud was the aggressor, said Falvo.
Falvo said the injuries Durrie suffered, including two black eyes, could have been sustained from his fall to the ground outside of McDonald's – not from punches thrown by Mahamud.
Crown prosecutor Brendan Green argued that after picking up Durrie – a passenger Mahamud perceived to be rude and “sloppy” – the driver “lost his temper,” and carried out the assault.
“It was out of character, but that's what happened,” said Green.
Mahamud will learn if he's found guilty or not guilty when Judge Malakoe gives his decision on May 25.