Judge to hear arguments over age of suspected killer today

A Hennepin County District Court judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether the suspected killer in a triple homicide is a juvenile.

Attorney Frederick Goetz said his client, Mahdi Hassan Ali, was 15-years-old at the time he allegedly killed three people at the Seward Market in Minneapolis in January. Ali's age and identitiy is in dispute.

The young man's driver's license says he's 17, but Goetz has produced a sworn affidavit from a woman believed to be Ali's mother who not only verifies that Ali is 15, but that he was born under a different name.

If the judge believes Ali was under age16 at the time of the alleged crime, Ali will have to undergo a certification process to determine if he should be tried as an adult.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said it doesn't matter if Ali was 15 or 17. He said Ali will likely be tried and convicted as an adult because of the nature of the crime.

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