Kare 11 – 2009-07-01
Attorney Ryan Garry successfully defended Josiah Ogunti, 26, of Brooklyn Park for his role in a shooting that injured three people at a Brooklyn Center soccer field in Mid-July. Two others were charged in the crime, but Mr. Garry defended Ogunti who was acquitted of 2nd Degree assault charges.
KARE 11 Television News reported that the events unfolded in Brooklyn Center, where a Liberian soccer tournament was being held. The league was designed to promote unity within the immigrant community but instead, a disagreement led to bloodshed, reminiscent of the violence they left behind in Liberia. Three people were hit by the gunfire, including an 8-year-old boy. The rest of the soccer tournament was been canceled for fear of more violence.
“After an extensive private investigation by our firm, and after interviewing many witnesses the police hadn’t even bothered questioning, I learned that Mr. Ogunti was, in fact, not one of the shooters during the Liberian Soccer Tournament, and was wrongfully charged,” according to Attorney Ryan Garry. “At Mr. Ogunti’s omnibus hearing, I made a motion to dismiss his case because the complaint and evidence lacked probable cause to charge him with the serious crime of Second Degree Assault. The judge rightfully granted my motion, and Mr. Ogunti was set free. The right result for an innocent client.”