Goofs, rats and other insults tackled at trial in shooting death of Yosif Al-Hasnawi

James Matheson says Yosif Al-Hasnawicalled him"a goof and sh-t," evoking one of the most dreaded words on Hamilton's streets and Ontario's prison system, before chasing after Matheson and his friend Dale King.

But the reliability of that testimony, and Matheson's motivation when giving it, arekey questions in Hamilton superior court Thursday.

Matheson is a Crown witness in a trial where Dale King, 21, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of the 19-year-old Brock University student.

Matheson and King were walking down Main Street East on the night of Dec. 2, 2017, the court has heard. Al-Hasnawi had stepped outside the mosque and saw the pair making fun of an older man, says the agreed statement of facts.Al-Hasnawi called to them to stop.

The pair crossed the street, and their conversation with Al-Hasnawi grew tense. Matheson sucker-punched Al-Hasnawi, the court has heard, and the pair ran.

Al-Hasnawi chased them, andKing shot Al-Hasnawi once in the abdomen as he ran, the court has heard. Al-Hasnawi died in hospital about an hour later.

King's lawyers agree that King shot Al-Hasnawi, but say he was acting in self defence.

Mathesonpreviously told police, in preliminary hearing testimony and when he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, that he and King didn't make out what Al-Hasnawi had shouted. They approached thinking it would be a friendly conversation, Matheson said in previous testimony.

Trying to get out of jail

But the conversation grew tense, Matheson said last year. Al-Hasnawi seemed to have something in his pocket, Mathesontold police last year, and called him "a goof and sh-t." In Hamilton street culture and in the prison system, the jury heard, "goof" is one of the worst insults.

The Crown pointed out another spot in the preliminary hearing transcript, though, where Mathesonsaid he'd lied about Al-Hasnawi having something in his pocket. And this week, Matheson saidhe couldn't remember what happened at all.

He and King, he said in previous testimony, were both using crystal meth, although Matheson said this week he couldn't speak to what drugs King was using.

Matheson answered many questions this week with "I don't know" and "I don't remember," and said he wasn't sure if he was telling police the truth. He was branded a rat in jail for co-operating with police on this case, he said, and he would have lied to get out of jail and out of danger.

"You're a person who lies to get out of trouble, aren't you?" Shimesaid.

"Yes," Mathesonreplied.

Shime asked him earlier if he was "doing your best to give the police the best information that you remembered at the time."

A snitchis as bad as a goof

Matheson paused. "I don't know."

"Were you trying to actively mislead the police?" Shime said.

"I don't know what my mindset would have been atthe time," Matheson said."I don't know what my goal would have been."

Both lawyers have suggested Matheson is less forthcoming now because of the "rat" label. A rat, Shime pointed out, is as bad as being called a goof.

This is the second week of the trial at Hamilton's John Sopinka courthouse. It continues at 10 a.m. Friday, when the court is expected to hear expert testimony from a toxicologist and a pathologist.

CBC reporter Samantha Craggs is live blogging the trial.