Murder case against Toronto rapper Top5 ends with charges stayed

The murder case against Top5 ended Monday after the prosecution stayed the charges against the underground Toronto rapper.

Top5, whose name is Hassan Ali, was arrested and charged in October 2021 with first-degree murder and three counts of failing to comply with recognizance in the death of 20-year-old Hashim Omar Hashi.

At 8:56 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2021, Hashi was attempting to drive his car into the underground parking garage of a building near Jane Street and Falstaff Avenue when he was shot at multiple times, Toronto police said.

The vehicle rolled into the closed parking garage doors. Hashi was found unresponsive in the driver’s seat and was pronounced dead at the scene.

0:33 Police release security video appearing to show suspect in fatal Toronto shooting

At the time, police said Hashi was studying accounting and worked part-time at the airport.

“He had a promising future and he was a very well-respected young man,” police said.

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Police added at the time, they weren’t sure why Hashi was killed and that they were looking into the possibility it may have been a case of mistaken identity, or something they had not yet uncovered that could provide insight into a possible motive.

In October that year, Ali was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in California on a provisional American arrest warrant. Ali was returned to Toronto from Los Angeles on Feb. 17.

He was then officially charged with first-degree murder and three counts of failing to comply with recognizance.

On Monday, the Crown stayed the charges against Ali after the judge excluded evidence that the Crown said was “crucial” to their case.

According to Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO), charges are stayed when a judge or Crown decides it would be bad for the justice system for the case to continue, meaning the issue of guilt or innocence is never determined.

“Stays can be granted when the state has acted unfairly, including a failure to bring the case to trial in a timely manner. A judicial stay brings the case to an end,” it said on its website.

A different type of stay is done by the Crown, the CLEO added. A Crown stay puts the case on hold, and the Crown can bring the charges back before the court within one year of the date the charges were stayed.

After a year has passed, the Crown cannot bring the stayed charges back before the court, it said.