Preliminary Examinations Begin in Dearborn Murder Case

The events leading up to the of a Dearborn man were replayed in the Friday morning, as a witness recounted the story in the case’s first preliminary examination.

The prosecution’s only witness was at the scene of the alleged murder of 23-year-old Hassan Zeidan on the basketball court behind Riverside Academy West. Both witnesses called to the stand by defense attorney Elias Muawad chose not to testify before seeking legal counsel. 

Fadi Faraj of first-degree murder and felony firearm possession from the July 13 incident. The 34-year-old allegedly shot Zeidan three times in the back and once in the head after a scuffle on the basketball court.

The prosecution's witness, Gassan Mrue, said 11 people were at the east end court on July 13 around 7:30 p.m. Mrue–who played basketball with Zeidan for more than two years and has known Faraj for around 20–was on the sidelines when the incident occurred. During the second game of the night, he said, Zeidan and Faraj began playing extremely aggressively.

“They were slapping hands and … it just blew out of proportion,” Mrue said. “And then words were exchanged: ‘I’m going to beat you up’ and stuff like that.”

The argument quickly turned into a fistfight and was eventually broken up by the other men on the court. After the two were separated, Faraj “ran to his car, grabbed a gun and came charging,” Mrue said.

Peacekeepers stopped Faraj-who was brandishing a silver revolver-when he was about 15 feet from Zeidan. But even after the men wrestled the gun from the suspect, he was still “irate,” Mrue said.

“(Faraj) kept on yelling that he wanted to fight again,” he added. “He thought there was a cheap shot when they first fought.”

A second fistfight then erupted between the two men, Mrue said. Faraj stumbled and fell to his knees at one point during the scuffle, and Zeidan landed a number of blows to his opponent’s face and head.

After a few minutes, this fight was broken up as well. But Faraj wasn’t satisfied, Mrue said.

“(Faraj) told (Zeidan), ‘I’m going to kill you,’” he said.

Faraj returned to his nearby car–parked at the side of the basketball court–with cousin Abraham Faraj, Mrue said. Fadi then reached into the center console, grabbed his gun and rushed toward Zeidan.

Mrue said Faraj shot Zeidan for the first time from 20 to 30 feet away, hitting him in the back.

“When (Zeidan) saw (Faraj), he tried to run,” Mrue said. “But he got shot in the back and just fell to the floor.” 

He added that Faraj approached Zeidan after shooting him once and opened fire at least twice more from “on top of him.”

“All I see is (Faraj) aiming down,” Mrue said.

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Lisa Screen–with around three dozen of Zeidan’s family and friends sitting behind her–had no further witnesses after Mrue. She did, however, hint that both of the defense’s witnesses might be prosecuted depending on their testimonies. The two men–Abraham Faraj and Mohamed Bazzi–declined to take the stand.

Although Screen wanted to appoint both men legal counsel and proceed with questioning Friday, Judge Mark Somers thought otherwise.

“To the court’s knowledge, this would have been the first occasion they would have been advised, officially, that they have the right to counsel and self-incrimination,” Somers said.

Court was then adjourned until 1 p.m. Sept. 2, when preliminary examination of the defense’s witnesses will continue.

Outside the courtroom, Zeidan’s cousin Abe Beydoun said he wants the maximum punishment possible for Faraj, if convicted. And although Zeidan’s death was almost a month ago now, the family is still in shock. 

“My family suffered an extreme loss,” Beydoun said. “(Faraj) murdered my cousin. It was so senseless. It was just a pick-up basketball game.”

Correction: This article originally stated that witness Abraham Faraj is the brother of defendent Fadi Faraj. That is incorrect. Abraham is Fadi's first cousin.