A man accused of second-degree murder after a fatal stabbing at a South Vancouver nightclub has parted ways with his lawyer, a Vancouver Provincial Court judge heard Aug. 29.
Mohammed Cortes Torres, 26, was arrested and charged on April 30 in the 2022 murder of Naseb Fazil, 19.
Fazil had been involved in a fight outside Marpole’s Gallery nightclub, near SW Marine Drive and Hudson Street, in the early hours of May 23, 2022.
Vancouver police officers found him alive but suffering stab wounds when they arrived. He later died in hospital from his injuries.
Fazil had graduated from Burnaby Central Secondary in 2021 and was working in construction.
On the night of his death, he used one of his first paycheques to give his father a present, a bottle of cologne.
Cortes Torres had been represented by David Ferguson. Judge Katherine Denhoff heard Ferguson has been discharged and that the new defence counsel is Tony Lagemaat.
A preliminary hearing in the case has been set to start Sept. 16. Such inquiries are held to determine whether or not enough evidence exists to go to trial.
Fazil and his siblings had been brought to Canada from war-torn Afghanistan nearly 11 years ago. His father, Nazi Fazil, told the Burnaby Now last spring that he's waiting for Canadian justice to show him that decision wasn't a tragic mistake.
Police said Cortes Torres was a Surrey resident at the time of the homicide, and police believe he was more recently staying on Vancouver Island.
Court databases show a Mohammed Cortes Torres has convictions for mischief under $5,000 and uttering threats.
With files from Cornelia Naylor
