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Surprise witness steps forward in kidnap case

Published August 31, 2017 8:38 PM

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To the victim and his family, justice seemed almost out of reach on Wednesday at El Centro Superior Court. They say they were told by the District Attorney’s Office that key evidence was missing in their case.

Dr. Mohamed Asiad, the victim’s father, said, “I’m angry and I’m going to continue the fight until justice is served.”

Asiad’s son, Mussa, was allegedly kidnapped by four people three years ago in Calexico as he walked to a school event. He was 17 years old.

Mussa recounted part of his ordeal to us.

“The van was driving while my feet were dragging on the floor, and I was pulled in. I was threatened with a gun. I was almost killed. And I was robbed, beaten, and choked,” Mussa said.

Even though some evidence in the alleged kidnapping was inspected by Calexico Police at the time, such as the van, it may no longer be available for further review. That angered and frustrated Asiad.

“Many officers, ex-officers in the Calexico P.D. say these guys are informants. And the lieutenant uses them as informants and that’s why they’re covering up,” Asiad said.

The defense wants document they said will show that police did illegal searches of their clients’ properties. The D.A. said Calexico P.D. cannot find those documents, either.

“When a person is beaten almost to death, these people need to be tried and sentenced for state prison for the crime they committed,” Asiad said.

Mussa said when things looked complicated for the prosecution, that’s when a surprise witness contacted him and the D.A. outside of court.

“Somebody came forward and decided to speak the truth. And the district attorney interviewed this witness. And, let’s just say this witness has critical information,” Mussa said.

“The witness was all scared and intimidated if he spoke up that something would happen to him or his family,” Mussa said.

This turn of events has inspired Mussa and his family to keep fighting for justice.

“I’m slowly recovering and overcoming this. And basically, all I’m looking forward to is justice.”

He makes a call to other victims of crime or violence to speak out.

“A lot of people have been victims of crimes and they didn’t get their justice. And I feel they get the runaround and they lost hope, either that or they just don’t speak out,” Mussa said.

UPDATE: The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement sent to KSWT that they have no police reports or other information to suggest the firearm used in this case was ever recovered. The van allegedly used in this case was inspected during a voluntary interview done with one of the defendants. The van was given back to the defendant after that by the Calexico Police Department after they had recovered evidentiary items from it. The van, officers who worked on the van, and evidence recovered from it are some of the subjects that are pertinent to the documents being sought by the Pitchess motion being brought by the defense.

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KYMA News Team