Victoria jury hears closing arguments in fatal nightclub stabbing case

The jury in the second-degree murder trial of Mohamed Daud Omar heard closing arguments from the Crown Wednesday, June 19 morning in Victoria. Omar called no witnesses and presented no arguments in his defense.

Omar is representing himself in a trial in which he is charged with murder for the 2022 stabbing death of John Dickinson outside the Lucky Bar in downtown Victoria. Throughout the trial, he cross-examined the witnesses very little and presented only one piece of evidence: a single photograph.

This photograph was provided to the jury, but what it depicts is not clear from the testimony and observations such as this are not publicly available at this time.

Judge Anthony Saunders said he plans to instruct the jury Thursday, June 20, morning, at which time members will be sequestered until they are ready to return a verdict.

In his closing arguments to the jury, Crown prosecutor Tim Stokes deconstructed the testimony from the past two and a half weeks, dividing it into several categories. These included why the Crown believes it was Omar who stabbed Dickinson, that it was not in self-defence, that it was intentional and that he did not lose control of himself at that time.

Stokes relied heavily on the testimony of two bar security guards who were on the scene when the fight took place, which led to Dickinson lying on the sidewalk with injuries to his chest and abdomen.

Rupert Cameron was working as a doorman that evening and was outside the bar before and during the fight. The fight began with an argument inside the bar, before spilling out into the street. It is still unclear what sparked the argument between the two men.

Cameron had testified that Omar appeared to be thinking intently about something, but was otherwise calm outside the bar. Cameron also testified that he heard Omar say something like, “I'm going to fuck this guy” under his breath, just before Dickinson left the bar.

Stokes used this testimony to claim that Omar had intended to harm Dickinson.

According to testimony, when Dickenson exited the bar, he ran toward Omar and a brief scuffle ensued before both men fell to the ground. Omar then fled the scene and Dickinson was left with two stab wounds.

Stokes argued that the use of a knife — he described it as a 12.5-inch replica of the type of weapon a Vietnam War-era Navy Seal would have carried — in a situation where Omar was only threatened with fists, does not meet the standards of self-defense.

“You don’t bring a knife to a fist fight,” Stokes said.

Stokes summarized the Crown's case by saying the evidence shows a person was in control and stabbed a person twice in a dangerous part of the body.

After the court heard from Stokes, Omar simply told the jury that he had decided he would “respectfully decline” to present his final submissions.

According to Saunders, if the jury does not reach a verdict Thursday, the members will be sequestered overnight in a hotel.