Mahmoud Rabah obtained an amazing victory in Queens County after a jury returned not guilty verdicts on all charges in a shooting case where the defendant faced life in prison.
The defendant was charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second and Third Degree. According to the evidence adduced at trial, in April, 2013, the defendant attended an underground brothel party in Queens. At 4 AM, according to an eyewitness bouncer, the defendant walked upstairs holding a firearm. The eyewitness bouncer interceded and attempted to wrestle the firearm away from the defendant. A friend of the eyewitness bouncer saw the struggle and attempted to assist in getting the firearm away from the defendant. During the struggle, the eyewitness bouncer was knocked back and his friend was shot once in the stomach. Both witnesses testified that the defendant fled and a anonymous 911 caller told 911 that a man with a gun fled into a car and read off the license plate number. Police tracked that number back to a car belonging to the defendant’s sister and ultimately tracked the defendant down to a residence in Queens. When police went to the residence, they saw the sister’s car with the same license plate parked on a street in front of the defendant’s building. The defendant was arrested and identified as the shooter.
At trial, Mr. Rabah systematically attacked and impeached each of the People’s witnesses. He confronted them with prior statements that were inconsistent with their trial testimony and exposed glaring problems with their version of events. No witness was spared from Mr. Rabah’s blistering cross examination. Through his advocacy, he highlighted and scrutinized each and every deficiency in the People’s case. Although the 911 tape was introduced into evidence, Mr. Rabah spared no argument on why the caller was unreliable.
In the end, the jury acquitted the defendant of all charges. He walked out of court a free man. This victory was especially sweet for the defendant since he faced life in prison if convicted.
Mr. Rabah was even congratulated after the trial by the juror. He shook hands with them as they praised his efforts and complimented his performance on trial.