Lang
5/2/21
A local Black Lives Matter leader faces charges that he lied to police about an Iowa City murder case.
20-year-old Mazin Mohamedali of 615 South Governor Street was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 10:30 Saturday morning. Mohamedali lives in the apartment where 19-year-old Quincy Russom was shot and killed in February.
Iowa City Police now say Mohamedali had specific knowledge that 22-year-old Sammy Hamed was the shooter. Arrest records indicate Mohamedali waited to call 9-1-1 to report the murder, then lied to investigators about how many people were involved and gave fabricated descriptions. Police say with the proper information, Hamed could have been arrested shortly after the murder. Instead, he was taken into custody almost ten days later.
Mohamedali also allegedly deleted his call history and his Snapchat app to hide evidence in the case. Police say he was also recorded confessing to the fact that he lied about who committed the murder and how many people were involved in order to keep investigators from finding out from where the guns were coming.
Mohamdali is charged with Accessory After the Fact. If convicted, he faces a maximum of two years in prison. He also faces separate felony drug charges after police reportedly found over 56 grams of marijuana and over 40 ecstasy pills in his apartment during a February 24th raid.
Hamed is charged with 1st Degree Murder, which is punishable by life in prison. His trial is set for July 17th.
Mohamedali faced felony charges stemming from the June 2020 protests in Iowa City after he led others in tearing down a $5,000 fence protecting the Old Capitol Museum. Later that month, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness dropped five of the six charges against Mohamedali, and he pleaded guilty to a simple disorderly conduct charge.
Mohamdali’s alleged crimes would violate his probation on a 2018 armed robbery conviction.