FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Fresno County murder trial is now in the hands of a jury.
Malik Nichols is accused of a double shooting in 2023 that left one of the victims dead.
“The path of destruction left behind by the defendant is unimaginable. On two separate occasions – in broad daylight – the defendant made the choice to fire his weapon, putting countless lives in danger,” said prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Kaitlyn Drake.
“Sometimes, if you’re unwilling to look beyond the narrative, you can be blinded by that narrative and not look at all the evidence. And that’s what I think happened here, ladies and gentlemen,” said Richard Beshwate, Nichols’ defense attorney.
The defendant is accused of shooting 43-year-old Ibrahim Muhammad and a 57-year-old woman in southwest Fresno back in 2023. Muhammad died – just 25 minutes after dropping his wife off at work. The female victim survived.
Investigators discovered 15 rounds were fired from at least two guns.
Prosecutors have called it a gang-related retaliation for a killing that happened months earlier and said there was a $10,000 bounty.
Drake says Nichols even took credit for the killing on camera, playing a clip in which the defendant referred to himself as an “AOB killer.”
“We know from that statement from the defendant’s own that he is the AOB killer. He is one of the people responsible for the death of Ibraham Mohammad. Believe him when he tells you that,” she said.
But Beshwate argued that it doesn’t constitute a confession.
“To try to base words – ‘AOB killer’ – means ‘I killed Mr. Mohammad.’ No, it doesn’t. It just doesn’t. That’s not what it means,” Beshwate said.
Beshwate is also pushing back against some of the evidence Drake showed Tuesday — specifically surveillance footage from three days before the murder.
It appears to show Nichols running after a man in an apartment complex and firing a weapon in his direction.
The defense is not defending his clients’ actions there but saying it doesn’t prove that he murdered Mohammad.
“In this case, they want you to believe Mr. Nichols killed Mr. Mohammad simply because he fired the same weapon a few days before. Well, that’s quite an assumption, ladies and gentlemen, that they’re asking you to take,” said Beshwate.
Kerry Mannix is a general assignment reporter for ABC30 Action News. For news updates, follow her on Instagram.
Copyright © 2026 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.