Crime Correspondent: Ottawa

Shant Esrabian, is charged with first-degree murder

"The cocaine underworld is one to which violence is no stranger, and Mr. Esrabian spoke of, condoned and recognized this fact," Mr. Mack said.Hussein El-Hajj Hassan was an ambitious 27-year-old cocaine dealer who had subverted the chain of command in Ottawa's drug underworld when he was shot twice in the early evening hours of Aug. 20, 2004, assistant Crown attorney Dallas Mack told a jury yesterday. He was making his opening statement to the jury in the trial of Shant Esrabian, who is charged with first-degree murder in Mr. El-Hajj Hassan's death.Mr. Mack told the jury that Mr. Esrabian was one of the three men who stood over Mr. El-Hajj Hassan the night he was killed in an isolated wooded area of Ottawa's west end. The other men, Mark Yegin and Fadi Saleh, are also charged with first-degree murder.<br />Mr. Esrabian, dressed in a crisp pink button-down shirt in the prisoner's box, has pleaded not guilty.Mr. Mack told the jury that Mr. El-Hajj Hassan was fast becoming a major player in Ottawa and Cornwall's cocaine markets in the months leading up to his death. He bought tens of thousands of dollars' worth of the drug each month from Mr. Saleh, his primary supplier, Mr. Mack said.<br />"In the months leading up to the murder, Mr. El-Hajj Hassan had grown frustrated with Mr. Saleh's organization," Mr. Mack said.He decided to go over his supplier's head and deal directly with Rafei Ebrekdjian, the Toronto man who supplied Mr. Saleh with his cocaine, Mr. Mack said.He told the jury that the day before Mr. El-Hajj Hassan died, he travelled to Toronto with $170,000 to purchase cocaine directly from Mr. Ebrekdjian, which brought the total he had paid the Toronto supplier to more than $400,000.The shipment was supposed to come on Aug. 21, 2004.Mr. El-Hajj Hassan met with Mr. Yegin, Mr. Esrabian and Mr. Saleh on Aug. 20, under the pretense that he was going to sort out issues related to his Cornwall dealings, the prosecutor said."No one was there that night by accident," Mr. Mack told the jury.<br />Mr. El-Hajj Hassan's mostly naked body would not be found until almost a year later when Mr. Yegin directed police to his shallow grave.On June 27, 2005, his body was recovered, curled into the fetal position, his skull crushed and right hand hacked off.Mr. Mack described Mr. Esrabian, 29, as a Montreal cocaine dealer who had been a high school friend of Mr. Saleh's and a powerful associate in his drug organization.<br />Mr. Mack told the jurors they would be presented with evidence that shows Mr. Esrabian travelled from Montreal to Gatineau on Aug. 19, 2004, and that calls made from his cellphone place him in the area of Ottawa at the same time and place that Mr. El-Hajj Hassan was killed.Mr. Mack told jury members that, during the five-week trial, they would hear from drug dealers, a member of the Hells Angels, and Mr. Yegin.The first witness, who is to testify this morning, is Soumia Labrouki, Mr. El-Hajj Hassan's widow.She gave birth to their third child three months after he died

Shant Esrabian, is charged with first-degree murder

"The cocaine underworld is one to which violence is no stranger, and Mr. Esrabian spoke of, condoned and recognized this fact," Mr...

Robin Cote arrested to face several charges, including first-degree murder

Robin Cote arrested to face several charges, including first-degree murder

Robin Cote was arrested by Montreal police on March 27 and returned to Ottawa on Thursday to face several charges, including first-degree mu...