Toronto

A heartless gas-and-dash bandit who killed a Mississauga father of two over $75 worth of gas could be back on the streets in two months.

Abdullahi Mohamoud, 27, who was known by police as “the ghost” for his ability to disappear and evade justice for years, admitted he killed Hashem Atifeh Rad in May 2011.

Rad, 62, an attendant at a south Mississauga gas station, clung to Mohamoud’s Nissan Altima door handle as he started to escape, court heard.

Rad lost his grip and struck his head on a concrete curb as Mohamoud sped away. Rad died the next day.

Mohamoud pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing Rad’s death and failing to remain and was sentenced Monday to 28 months minus credit for pre-trial custody. He could be a free man in as few as 50 days.

Justice Jill Copeland gave Mohamoud additional credit for the 17 months he already served because the brutal conditions he tolerated at Maplehurst Detention Centre, said his lawyer Dragi Zekavica.

Mohamoud suffered a brutal beating by five inmates in September 2016, suffering facial injuries, including a broken jaw and nose.

Mohamoud also lived in a triple bunked, over-crowded cell and endured more than 120 days of prison lockdown — from Oct. 15, 2015 to March 6, 2017, said Zekavica.

“The tragedy has had an profound impact on a young man who expressed his heart-felt condolences to the victim’s family who weren’t present in court Monday,” said Zekavica. “He completed his high school diploma in custody and that bodes well for his rehabilitation.

“He’s made himself a better, not bitter, person while in jail,” said Zekavica.

Mohamoud was a most-wanted fugitive from justice for three years when he skipped bail on the dangerous driving allegations and sexual assault charges in Edmonton.

In October 2015, Mohamoud was sentenced to the equivalent of 23 months for a 2008 sexual assault on a teenage Edmonton girl when he had just turned 18.

Here’s a time-line of significant events in the Abdullahi Mohamoud story:

2008 — Mohamoud is busted with others in a gang sexual assault in Edmonton, but he’s released on bail and later absconds.

May 19, 2011 — Abdullahi Mohamoud steals gas in a theft that results in attendant Hashem Atifeh Rad, 62, death.

October 2011 — Mohamoud is arrested after an intensive five-month investigation. Freed on bail.

Nov. 8, 2011 — Peel police bust Mohamoud in Toronto for Edmonton investigators after he failed to show up for his sex charges there. Transported to Edmonton and he gets bail again.

Aug. 30, 2012 — Mohamoud is deemed to have violated bail when he failed to show up in Brampton court on the driving related charges.

Mohamoud, who remains on the lam, ends up working at an oil sands camp near Fort McMurray Alta.

Jan. 29, 2015 — RCMP bust Mohamoud outside Fort McMurray and return him to Edmonton.

Oct. 14, 2015 — Mohamoud pleaded guilty to a sexual offence in Edmonton and is sentenced to 23 months in jail.

Oct. 17, 2015 — Peel police re-arrest Mohamoud in jail in Edmonton and transport him back to Peel.

March 6, 2017 — Mohamoud pleads guilty to dangerous driving.

spazzano@postmedia.com