Attorney asks to sever robbery counts in Mahdi murder case

March 12, 2015 at 12:02a.m.

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 Nagi Mahdi, 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 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 he was 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. Zena said in the video, McDonald is identified by family members who were shown the video by police who were questioning family members in the days after Mahdi was killed.

Zena said under Ohio law, the video should be thrown out because only people who were at the scene of the crime can identify a person who is on video during a crime. By allowing that video and identification into the trial, it could prejudice jurors into thinking McDonald was in the South Avenue store Nov. 19 to rob it.

“Robbery is the crux issue in this case,” Zena said.

Assistant Prosecutor Natasha Frenchko said the video should be allowed, and the cases should not be severed. She said in both robberies, McDonald acts the same, and when he went to the South Avenue store Nov. 19, he was wearing a coat he took from the Belmont Avenue store in the Nov. 18 robbery.

Frenchko said store employees also can identify McDonald from the Nov. 18 robbery. She also said during both robberies McDonald acted the same and said the same words both times: “I have $200 to spend.” The video, she said, shows a common scheme or practice and should be allowed because state law allows evidence that shows common scheme or practices.

In a separate matter, Zena withdrew a motion to suppress statements his client made to police the day after Mahdi was killed. Zena was going to challenge the statement because he said McDonald was heavily sedated while he was being treated for his wounds when he was questioned by detectives and could not have understood his rights to not answer any questions.

Zena withdrew that motion, however, because prosecutors told him they will not introduce that statement during the trial.