A woman who testified to renting a U-Haul to the accused in an attempted murder trial said he originally wanted a larger truck, but that she was sold out.
Abdulahi Hasan Sharif’s trial entered its second week Monday. Court heard from three witnesses during the morning session, including a motorist who witnessed a car strike Const. Mike Chernyk, and a taxi driver who allegedly drove Sharif to a U-Haul rental office in Leduc.
An employee at that rental office, Tamara Gorman, described Sept. 30, 2017 as a busy day. Normally, she closes at noon on Saturdays but stayed open to accommodate the end-of-the-month rush.
“He stated to me that he had a rental booked in Edmonton but that rental did not come back, so the location sent him to Leduc,” Gorman testified.
“He then proceeded to ask what I had available. Originally he wanted a 20-foot or a 26-foot U-Haul. I explained to him the only one I had left was a 15-foot. That’s the one he agreed he would take.”
Asked to identify the man, she indicated Sharif in the prisoner dock.
“He is the individual who is seated over there.”
The jury also saw two short security videos purportedly showing Sharif handing over cash to rent the truck.
Sharif, 32, is charged with 11 offences including five counts of attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Sharif is accused of striking Chernyk with a car and attacking him with a knife, then leading police on a pursuit through downtown Edmonton during which four pedestrians were struck.
Sharif is self-represented and has declined to cross-examine any of the witnesses. He is being assisted in court by amicus lawyer Greg Levin.
Monday’s first witness was Edem Mortotsi, who was driving his car to the football game at Commonwealth Stadium around 8 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2017.
While at the intersection of 107A Avenue and 92 Street, he saw a white car pick up speed and crash into Chernyk. Mortotsi said a man exited the driver’s side of the car and proceeded to get into a fight with Chernyk on the ground.
After the man from the car ran off, Mortotsi approached the officer, who had his gun out. “He was holding his ear. I asked him basically ‘is everything OK,’ and he couldn’t answer me.”
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Earlier that day, Sharif is alleged to have rented a U-Haul from a car cleaning business on Sparrow Drive in Leduc.
A driver for Co-op taxi testified he drove a man from Kingsway Mall to the Leduc business early that afternoon.
“He said ‘I’m going to rent a U-haul,’” the driver told court, adding his fare told him all the U-Hauls in Edmonton had already been rented.
He dropped the passenger around 2 p.m., he said, adding he paid his roughly $60 fare in cash.
Gorman, the rental employee, said she initially had trouble understanding the man.
“I found him distracted,” she said. “He would not look me in the eye, and kept looking around in every direction.”
She said he had a valid driver’s licence and paid for the $198.40 rental in cash. The timestamp on the rental is 12:47 p.m.
More to come.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
