Jury deliberations begin in trial of Rochester man charged in 2019 murder
Dec. 8—The case of a Rochester man charged in the 2019 murder of a 28-year-old is now in the hands of an Olmsted County District Court jury.
Muhidin Abukar, 32, is charged in Olmsted County District Court with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Garad Hassan Roble.
Roble was found dead by a passing motorist about 3:45 a.m. March 5, 2019, on 45th Street Southeast, between St. Bridget Road Southeast (County Road 20) and Simpson Road (County Road 1). Roble had been shot 11 times — including four times in the head and three times in each arm. No exact time of death was determined.
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Opening statements begin for Rochester man charged in March 2019 murder
The last time anyone heard from Roble was at 2:09 a.m. March 5 when he called LaTonya McNeal. McNeal testified in the trial that she knew Roble for a number of years and that she "sometimes bought drugs from him." Jurors heard no indications that Roble may have known he was in the last moments of his life during that call.
Deliberations began just before 11 a.m. Tuesday following closing statements from Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem and defense attorney Paul Applebaum.
"Garad Roble was executed during the very early morning hours of March 5, 2019 in Olmsted County. When we started the trial, (Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Andrew) LeTourneau said we'd prove to you Mr. Abukar was one of two men who brought Mr. Roble out to rural Olmsted County and murdered him," Ostrem said. "We accomplished that task."
Around 3 p.m., jurors passed a note to the court with a question. Jurors were brought back into the courtroom around 3:20 p.m. to have their question read, which asked for clarification on elements of the charge of second-degree murder and a person's liability for the crimes of another.
In response to the question, Judge Lisa Hayne told jurors that the "instructions are the instructions" and urged jurors to urged the jury to reread the instructions and discuss them with each other. The jury was then sent back to continue deliberations.
Closing arguments
Throughout its case, the state presented more than 30 witnesses, including the former assistant chief medical examiner at the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office at Mayo Clinic, forensic scientists and special agents with the BCA as well as members of the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office.
In his closing arguments, Ostrem reminded the jury that the 10 shell casings found at the scene with Roble's body matched that of a 40-caliber Glock handgun, with stampings or engravings that said "MSHP" and "Missouri State High Patrol," found on March 8, 2019, under the Elton Hills Drive Northwest bridge on the frozen Zumbro River.
Cell phone data placed Abukar's phone, as well as the phone of Ayub Abucar Hagi Iman, in the area of the Elton Hills Drive Northwest bridge during the early morning hours of March 5 after Roble's last phone call. Iman is charged with second-degree murder in connection with Roble's death.
While defense attorneys throughout the case made a point that there was no proof Abukar had his phone with him on March 4 and into the early morning of March 5, Ostrem told the jury "you know that this phone was with Mr. Abukar."
"You can make that deduction based on your life experience and what you've heard in this case," Ostrem said.
A second magazine, which had the same markings as the magazine found in the murder weapon, was found during a trash pull at a Northwest Rochester residence in the days after the murder.
Ostrem told jurors not to be distracted by that, adding that the person whose DNA was found on it was not a "major player" in the case as Applebaum argued in his closings.
Applebaum repeatedly told the jury to question why that man's cell phone data was not part of the case. "Aren't you curious," Applebaum said. "Who is this guy? Why isn't the state cracking open his phone?"
Applebaum asked the jury how they knew that man wasn't out at the scene where Roble's body was found.
"Doesn't that make you wonder 'am I being told the whole story or am I being given bits and pieces because I can't be trusted with the whole story,'" Applebaum said.
The lack of information on that man created reasonable doubt, Applebaum said, giving the jury enough reasonable doubt to find Abukar not guilty.
While Applebaum pointed to a lack of blood evidence on a jacket and pair of shoes taken from Abukar's residence, Ostrem pointed out that the items were taken on March 28 — weeks after Roble's death.
Applebaum also tore into the state's use of the cell phone data saying "Heaven help us" if cell phone extraction software "is going to convict people of murder."
"There is not one iota of proof that (Abukar's) phone was there. Not one iota of proof that there was blood on his jacket. Not one iota of proof that there was blood on his shoes," Applebaum said.
Applebaum also told the jury that testimony showed that Abukar was "falling down drunk" that night and pointed to that as one of the reasons Abukar may have given conflicting statements when questioned by police.
Finishing his remarks, Applebaum asked Abukar to stand and face the jury and remove the surgical mask he had been wearing the entirety of the trial.
"He's been sitting there in the dark for a week with a mask on and I want you to look at him," Applebaum said. "He's a human being and I'm proud to represent him and he deserves any consideration anyone else in our community would. I ask you to find him not guilty of either shooting Mr. Roble or putting that gun in the river."
Jury selection began Nov. 29 when 15 people — four men and 11 women — were seated as jurors to hear the case. Twelve are deliberating — four men and eight women.
