Fri, June 27, 2008
Man charged with murder in shooting
UPDATED: 2008-06-27 03:02:51 MST
By KEVIN MARTIN
Two suspects in the drug-related slaying of a Calgary man have been ordered to stand trial , one for first-degree murder.
Provincial court Judge Sandra Hamilton yesterday agreed there was sufficient evidence in the case of Cody William Bates and Jason Malin Woods. Hamilton made the ruling at the conclusion of a nine-day preliminary inquiry.
During the hearing Crown prosecutors Pat Yelle and Vicki Faulkner called 20 witnesses to the stand. A publication ban was imposed on the evidence by Hamilton at the request of defence lawyers Karen Molle and David Chow, who did not contest their clients committals to stand trial.
Bates, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in the June 6, 2006, shooting death of Ali Khamis. Woods, 20, is accused of manslaughter in the slaying of Khamis, who had recently become the father of a baby girl.
Police said Khamis was shot once from close range outside a community centre in the southwest subdivision of Shawnessy.
They also said the victim and his alleged killers knew each other and the slaying was drug-related. The two accused weren't charged until more than a year after the death of Khamis, 30.
They are scheduled to appear in Court of Queen's Bench on Aug. 22, when a trial date will likely be set. Both men remain in custody pending trial.