'You should not be here,' judge tells Windsor man nabbed with trunkload of drugs, guns
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A bright young Windsor man with dreams of medical school has high hopes for the future — despite now boasting a criminal record involving drugs and guns.
“You should not be here, you can make something of yourself,” Superior Court Justice Brian Dube told Hussein Al Hayawi, 28, at a sentencing hearing on Thursday.
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It has taken more than five years for justice to be served after police pulled over a vehicle with a broken headlight in early 2019. Inside the trunk was a Bushmaster rifle — the judge described its look as “menacing” — and two shotguns, along with ammunition. Also seized: 45.6 grams of cocaine, 18.3 grams of methamphetamine and 293 grams of cannabis.
Since the arrest of the then-22-year-old, Al Hayawi has spent close to 2,000 days under what his lawyer described as “strict house arrest.” On Thursday, however, he was brought to court from jail. Without any details being revealed, the judge was informed Al Hayawi has another criminal case pending, but this week’s matter is considered a first-time offence.
Following a trial last fall, Justice Dube released his ruling earlier this year that found Al Hayawi guilty on 11 counts, including possession of a restricted weapon and unauthorized possession of firearms, as well as possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
Citing the “very obvious connection” between drugs and guns in criminal enterprises, the “commercial motivation” behind the amount of drugs involved, as well as the need for the court to send a message, federal drug prosecutor Mitchell Witteveen called for a five-year prison sentence. He described the offence as “mid-level trafficking.”
Defence lawyer Jack Lloyd said the Crown might “scream and shout denunciation and deterrence” but he described his client as a “youthful first-time offender” who was a good student with plans to go to medical school. But then “something goes wrong” in 2019.
Greed could have been that motivation to turn to crime.
“I’m sure he wanted to make … pretty good money,” Dube interjected at one point, although the judge also pointed to a “very positive” pre-sentence report and family character letter that described a “loving, respectful and hopeful person.”
The defence called for a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community. The judge’s decision on punishment is expected in the fall.
Justice Dube said Al Hayawi made “some very dangerous choices” and that a “very concerning fact” in the case was having an offender driving around Windsor with three firearms in the trunk of his car.
With his parents and sister sitting in the public gallery, Al Hayawi stood and addressed the court: “I’d like to apologize. I’m a person of this community.” He said he has goals which include leaving Windsor to “prepare for my future” before contributing again to the community.
Justice Dube described Al Hayawi — born in Toronto and a high school Grade A student who played football and volunteered at his local mosque — as someone he doesn’t usually encounter in the local courts.
“You are unlike a lot of people I deal with … many of those people don’t have the wherewithal to make it,” he said, adding Al Hawayi had already “given up a significant portion of his young life because of his poor choices.”
As another mitigating factor in determining an appropriate sentence, the judge referred to “multiple violations of the accused’s Charter rights,” which had been the subject of an earlier, but unsuccessful, application by the defence to have the charges tossed. Lloyd told the Star after Thursday’s proceedings that those violations included how police conducted the vehicle search, how Al Hayawi was arrested and then detained.
If the judge shows leniency in sentencing, it won’t be the first time Al Hayawi would appear to have gotten a big break from the justice system.
Two years ago, a prosecutor in a different courtroom advised a Windsor judge the Crown was staying a first-degree murder charge against Al Hayawi in connection to the Nov. 28, 2022, fatal shooting of Daniel Squalls, 24, in the 800 block of Hanna Street East.
Windsor police arrested Al Hayawi a few days after that shooting. His lawyer later told the Star his client had been caught up in the murder investigation while being the subject of ongoing police surveillance in connection to a guns and drugs case.
After months on the run, Malique Calloo was arrested by U.S. authorities in July 2023. He’s scheduled to go on trial next March for first-degree murder in the killing of Squalls.
At the conclusion of Thursday’s proceedings, Al Hayawi’s father leaned into the prisoner box and kissed his son as his mother stood nearby in tears.
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