Man who murdered South Avenue store owner pleads guilty today

YOUNGSTOWN

Abdullah Mahdi died once.

But a friend of Mahdi’s said the man who pleaded guilty today to killing him will die daily.

Larry McDonald, 20, of Truman Avenue, pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to the Nov. 19 murder of Mahdi, 29, at his Reema’s Fashion store on South Avenue. He was sentenced by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum immediately after his pleas to 33 years to life in prison.

The pleas to aggravated murder and aggravated robbery head off a trial that was to begin Monday. The sentence was agreed upon between prosecutors and defense attorneys. Because the sentence is agreed upon, it cannot be appealed.

Several of Mahdi’s friends were present in the courtroom, and three of them spoke to the judge before sentencing, all of them calling Mahdi a “beautiful person.”

Read what they said in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.