Following his arrest in early August for allegedly shooting an imam and his assistant, former New School maintenance employee Oscar Morel and his lawyer Michael Schwed are arguing in court that there isn’t enough evidence for him to be charged for the murders.
Morel was arrested on Aug. 15 after the police found a revolver, the weapon they believe was used in the murder, in his Brooklyn home. Following his arrest, Morel pleaded “not guilty.”
“He’s not identified by anybody as the shooter,” said Schwed.
But police and prosecutors are adamant Schwed’s client killed the two men.
Morel, a former porter at the New School, fatally shot Imam Maulana Akonjee and his assistant Thara Uddin on Aug. 13, 2016, according to school officials and police.
The complaint against Morel states that he did shoot both victims in the head with a loaded revolver causing their deaths, according to Det. Joseph Petrelli of the 106th Precinct.
Part of the reason investigators believe Morel did it is because he told them he was near the mosque at the time of the shooting.
“I own a Chevy Trailblazer and I am the only one who drives the vehicle,” said Morel, according to court documents. “I was driving my Chevy Trailblazer…between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. taking a female to a doctor’s appointment…I went into the trunk of the vehicle to make it comfortable because my friend had her kids with her.”
The court files included a second statement Morel made on Aug. 15 en-route to Central Booking that contradicts the recreation made by sketch artists of the suspected shooter. “I wear glasses and I put on my contact lenses on Sunday, August 14, 2016,” Morel said.
Following a Nov. 30 court date, according to Schwed, no one can identify as of right now that Morel committed the crime. Moreover, Morel’s DNA was not found on the gun in question, but is still included in the Bill of Particulars as evidence for the trial, according to Morel’s lawyer and his file from the Queens Criminal Court, which means it will still be considered evidence.
Following Morel’s arrest in August, Schwed told NBC News that his client was unaware of the existence of the gun police found.
“He said he heard in the precinct after they arrested him, he heard one cop say to the other the gun was found in a wall outside of the house,” Schwed said to NBC News. “So he has no idea why that was there.”
At Morel’s arraignment, prosecutors stated that police were able to connect the .38 caliber revolver which was picked up at Morel’s house to the gun used in the murders, NBC News reported.
Morel is currently being held at the Brooklyn Detention Center while he awaits his next court date.
In an interview with The New School Free Press, Schwed made it clear that his client isn’t enjoying being in jail.
The trial will continue on Jan. 11, 2017 with Morel present.
Photo by Don Eim