Attorney wants robbery counts separated in murder of South Avenue store owner

YOUNGSTOWN

A Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge is expected to rule shortly on a motion filed by the attorney of a man accused of killing a South Avenue store owner to sever aggravated robbery counts in his trial.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum heard arguments Wednesday to separate charges related to a robbery Nov. 18 at Reemas Fashions on Belmont Avenue from the robbery and aggravated murder charges Nov. 19 at another Reemas Fashions store on South Avenue where the owner of both stores, Abdullah Mahdi Nagi, 29, was killed.

Larry McDonald, 19, of Truman Avenue, is charged in both cases and his trial on charges of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of carrying concealed weapons begins Monday with jury selection.

McDonald’s lawyer, Tom Zena, who asked for the separation of charges, said in the Nov. 19 case his client was in the store and did have a gun with him.

“The issue is whether or not Larry was trying to perpetrate a robbery,” Zena said.

McDonald is accused of robbing the Belmont Avenue store on Nov. 18, then going to the South Avenue store Nov. 19 to rob it when Mahdi pulled a gun he was carrying after an employee pointed McDonald out and said he had a weapon with him. The two fired at each other. Mahdi was killed and McDonald was wounded and hospitalized for several days and is still in a wheelchair.

Zena said he wants both cases tried separately because of a video of the Nov. 18 robbery.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.