Although Harry Ahmed's trial was slated to begin next week, a last-minute request from the Crown has now left the proceedings in limbo.
Ahmed, 42, was arrested on Oct. 5, 2018 shortly after 9 a.m. by Barrie police, assisted by the Biker Enforcement Unit.
At that time, Ahmed was in the midst of a municipal election campaign, running for Barrie's Ward 5 council seat. He was charged with extortion and later with failure to comply with a probation order.
Crown attorney Lynn Shirreffs requested a judicial stay of the proceedings against Ahmed in court on Wednesday afternoon, which was granted by the judge.
A judicial stay is the act of temporarily stopping a judicial proceeding through the order of a court.
For up to one year, the Crown may lift the stay and re-institute the proceedings. After one year, the matter is stayed permanently.
Neither Shirreffs nor defense attorney David Wilcox were willing to provide comment after court on Wednesday.
The stay means Ahmed’s trial, which was slated to take place over five days starting Jan. 20, is now also put on pause.
Ahmed campaigned for the position of Barrie mayor in 2010, garnering 305 votes, and also sought the Ward 5 council seat in 2014 when he received 231 votes.
After his arrest, Ahmed told BarrieToday he hoped the charges wouldn’t hurt his election chances; however, he came in fourth among four candidates in the 2018 election with 70 votes.
“I’m totally innocent... it has nothing to do with me. It’s a he-said, she-said and we are in the middle of it,” Ahmed said at that time. “The matter is in court and I have complete faith that they will see the end of it.
“This could happen to anybody. Anybody could be accused of anything,” he added.
