Arlington hit-and-run driver convicted on all charges

A Tarrant County jury on Thursday convicted a 26-year-old man on all charges in the case of a 74-year-old Arlington resident who was hit by a car as he walked on a sidewalk last year.

After deliberating less than three hours, jurors found Omar Bashir Mohammed guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, injury to the elderly and leaving the scene of an accident.

The charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon alone carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The sentencing phase of the trial was scheduled to begin Friday.

Terence Pinkston, 74, was taking his morning walk on a sidewalk in the 2400 block of Ascension Boulevard in Arlington when he was hit from behind by a car on Feb. 15, 2014. The blow sent him flying head first into a fence post, causing injuries that required a weeklong hospital stay and several more weeks of recovery in a rehabilitation facility.

Mohammed was arrested on Feb. 19 at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport after he boarded a plane headed for Jordan.

A relative of Mohammed tipped police anonymously about where to find the car that hit Pinkston and its driver. That tipster was the last witness jurors heard Thursday before closing arguments. The jury began deliberating about 5:30 p.m. and returned a verdict shortly before 8 p.m.

The woman, who was subpoenaed by Mohammed’s attorney, called 911 twice, asking that her identity be kept secret because of her relationship to the family. The recording of one of those 911 calls was played for the jury Thursday, and she continued to talk as though she feared retaliation. The Star-Telegram is not naming her because of her fear.

“I’m not comfortable with them knowing that I am telling on them,” the tipster said on the recording.

The woman testified that a car belonging to a relative had just had its windshield replaced and that other body work was being done to the car.

The tipster said that she had heard that police were looking for a Chevrolet compact but that the car was actually a Honda Civic.

Mohammed’s attorney, Jim Shaw, asked the tipster if she had been offered money for her information.

“I don’t want any money,” the tipster said. “I didn’t ask for any money. I gave the tip because what Omar did was wrong and we were hoping that he would turn himself in.”

Police obtained a search warrant based on the woman’s information and found the car at Mohammed’s father’s house, according to testimony from police.

Omar Mohammed was not there, according to testimony from Troy Medina, an Arlington detective assigned to the North Texas Fugitive Task Force.

Omar Mohammed paid cash for a plane ticket to Jordan and was on the plane while police were looking for him. Fortunately for law enforcement, the aircraft’s takeoff was delayed for about an hour with a mechanical problem.

The plane was within 10 minutes of takeoff and was backing away from the gate before customs officials realized he was on the plane, said Michael Eddy, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official.

“We called the tower and told them to bring the plane back to the gate because there was a fugitive on the plane,” Eddy said.

An American Airlines official boarded the aircraft and made sure Mohammed was in his seat. Then authorities boarded and arrested him, Eddy said.

Mohammed was turned over to Arlington police who discovered he was carrying more than $2,600 in cash.

“He seemed somewhat scared, defeated and concerned,” said Arlington police Sgt. Anthony Wright.

Mohammed’s father, Bashir Mohammed, also testified that his son was afraid of what might happen to him as a result of the collision. The family consulted more than three different attorneys in an attempt to figure out what to do, the father told the jury.

After miscues with several attorneys, the family decided to retain Shaw, Bashir Mohammed testified.

Bashir Mohammed, a Jordanian, said that in his country when something similar to this collision occurs, families don’t retain attorneys or participate in civil and criminal trials. The families who are involved meet together and work out whatever differences they may have, Bashir Mohammed said.

Prison terrified his son because of his small size, Bashir Mohammed said. Also, according to several attorneys the family had spoken with, no warrants were issued for his arrest, so the family believed he could do whatever he wanted.

“There was nothing against him,” Bashir Mohammed said.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Arlington hit-and-run driver convicted on all charges."