Trial set to begin in robbery, shooting of East Side store owner

A guilty plea was vacated after a judge failed to say four key words.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The last of five defendants in a March 30, 2004, robbery, in which an East Side convenience store owner was shot in the mouth, is scheduled to go on trial Monday.

The jury trial of Isael Roman III, 20, of Rosewood Avenue, on charges of attempted aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping with firearm specifications, will be before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The charges pertain to the robbery and shooting of Jihad Mahd, owner of the Big Apple Market on McGuffey Road, and to the detention of the owner’s son, Mohammed Mahd, who the prosecution said was held in a seated position with an aluminum baseball bat to keep him from coming to his father’s defense.

If convicted on all counts, Roman could be imprisoned for up to 39 years. Roman, who the prosecution believes was the triggerman, has rejected a prosecution offer to recommend an 18-year sentence in exchange for his guilty plea.

Four co-defendants have pleaded guilty in this case in which cigarettes and cash were taken from the store.

Roman’s long-delayed case returned to common pleas court after the 7th District Court of Appeals vacated Roman’s earlier guilty plea on the grounds that Judge Maureen A. Sweeney failed to say the words “beyond a reasonable doubt” when she advised him of the prosecution’s burden of proof in a criminal trial.

In a pretrial hearing Friday, Judge Krichbaum denied requests for further postponement of the trial by J. Michael Thompson, assistant county prosecutor, and Roman’s lawyer, Robert Rohrbaugh, who requested more trial preparation time.

The judge also overruled Rohrbaugh’s motion to withdraw as defense counsel because of what Rohrbaugh said was a breakdown in his working relationship with his client. Rohrbaugh said Roman hasn’t provided him with the names of witnesses Roman said could testify that he was elsewhere when the robbery occurred.

“His failure to cooperate isn’t going to interfere with the administration of justice,” Judge Krichbaum said.

Last year, Judge Krichbaum sentenced two other defendants in the case: Montrell D. Sims, 20, of South Truesdale Avenue; and Ronald Lee Robinson, 21, of Berkley Avenue, to 10 years each in prison after they pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Also last year, Judge Krichbaum sentenced Christian Little, 20, of Oak Street, who cooperated with prosecutors, to 30 days in jail followed by five years’ probation for conspiracy to commit robbery.

Phillip J. Austin, 24, of Rosewood Avenue, received an eight-year prison term for aggravated robbery and felonious assault with gun specifications in 2005 from Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.