Mohamed Omar, who was found guilty last year for the second-degree murder of John Dickinson, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 13 years.
At the trial, eyewitnesses testified that on March 1, 2022, Omar and 29-year-old Dickinson were involved in an altercation that began as a verbal dispute. According to the testimony, Dickinson then physically engaged with Omar, placing his hands on him and leading him toward the exit of Lucky Bar, a nightclub located on Yates Street.
One security guard escorted Omar out of the bar, and a second guard kept him outside while the first talked with Dickinson. The guard noted during the trial that Omar seemed “calm but focused,” and muttered under his breath, “I’m going to fuck this guy up.”
"Mr. Omar went back into the bar briefly, had another verbal exchange with Mr. Dickinson, and then left. When Mr. Dickinson and his girlfriend exited shortly after that, Mr. Dickinson saw Mr. Omar, yelled at him, and rushed at him. The two of them tussled and then tripped or fell with Mr. Dickinson on top,” noted the decision, written by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Saunders.
The two security guards attempted to intervene, but while they were both down, Omar stabbed Dickinson twice in the torso, trisecting his aorta and mesenteric artery, resulting in “massive blood loss.”
Omar fled the scene on foot to a residence in Victoria West where he called 911, saying he stabbed someone, claiming he acted in self-defence. A 12.5-centimetre replica combat knife with a fixed blade was found at the scene.
In victim impact statements from Dickinson’s mother, sisters and a friend, they said Dickinson was a kind, compassionate, generous and thoughtful man, and his death left a “terrible void” in the lives of his family and friends.
According to psychiatric and psychological assessment reports, along with an Impact of Race and Culture Assessment Report (IRCA), Omar was born in Toronto to Somali immigrant parents, though his dad died before he was born.
"Mr. Omar's mother no doubt would have been traumatized by the events of the Somali Civil War and the circumstances that led to both his parents becoming refugees. In this respect, Mr. Omar may have suffered what is termed intergenerational trauma,” noted Saunders.
Omar – who is Black and a Muslim – also suffered from bullying and racism as a child, and witnessed racist micro-aggressions directed at his mother, which made him feel ostracized due to his race and religion, according to the IRCA.
He began drinking daily and using cannabis to cope with anxiety and stress, and eventually dropped out of high school in grade 11.
His substance abuse escalated, and he was convicted of assault, breaking and entering and uttering threats in 2013. There were more convictions from 2015 to 2017 for possession of a weapon, assault of police officers, assault with a weapon, theft of a motor vehicle, mischief and probation breaches. In the meantime, he also experienced drug-induced psychosis and was hospitalized for a time.
Following a “transformative” year he spent living in Somalia, he seemingly made an effort to turn his life around, obtaining his high-school equivalency and a community college diploma, eventually moving to Victoria in 2020 to study at Royal Roads University.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, he started to experience social isolation, and his mental health started declining.
“He began drinking a lot, consuming between four and eight beers or mixed drinks a day, and then in 2021 he resumed using cannabis,” noted Saunders. “[A forensic psychiatrist] also records Mr. Omar acknowledging that his increased use of alcohol, cannabis and other substances, including hallucinogens, 'likely contributed to increasing irritability, anger and potentially symptoms of psychosis’".
In 2022, he was arrested and charged with a “serious, violent crime”– charges that are still before the courts. He was released from custody on orders to observe a curfew by being in his residence between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., refraining from possessing or consuming alcohol or drugs, and not being in possession of any weapons, including knives.
Six days after his release, he murdered Dickinson while under those orders.
According to a pre-sentence report from a probation officer, while in custody, Omar "has been involved in physical fights with other inmates, has been disciplined for making a weapon, and has disobeyed staff direction.”
In the conclusion of the sentencing submissions during the hearing, which was held on April 10, Omar apologized to Dickinson’s family and friends, but Saunders notes that “nothing in what he said, however, demonstrated that he has any insight into why he committed this terrible crime, nor that he accepts his responsibility for it.”
Along with his imprisonment, Omar will be under a mandatory 10-year prohibition from being in possession of any prohibited weapon, an order authorizing the taking of samples for forensic DNA evidence, and he is not allowed to contact some of Dickinson's friends or family while he is in custody.
