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Man pleads guilty in Nov. slaying of store owner
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Abdullah Mahdi died once.
But a friend of Mahdi’s told the man who pleaded guilty Friday to killing him that he 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.”
“I wish that day — that bullet — it was me and not him,” said Nabil Abuenjeela.
“I wish he [McDonald] took my life,” said Ned Seder.
“This case greatly saddens me,” Judge Krichbaum said after the men spoke.
All three men also spoke of Mahdi’s seven daughters, age 2 to 13, and his generosity at his stores — the one on South Avenue and another on Belmont Avenue that has closed since his death.
Seder said, as an Arab American, he believes in the law and due process. As a Muslim, he said he believes only God can take a life and it would be wrong to kill McDonald even if he had the chance. But he did say McDonald would suffer every day and die every day.
“With all due respect to the court, the person who committed this crime — he died the day Abdullah left,” Seder said. “He’s [McDonald] not going to the penitentiary. He’s going to hell.”
Police said McDonald was in the Reema’s Fashion store on South Avenue to rob it and had a gun. That’s when an employee warned Mahdi that McDonald looked like the man who had robbed his Belmont Avenue store the day before.
Mahdi, also armed, went over to see what McDonald was doing. At some point, both men pulled their guns and fired. Mahdi died as someone prayed with him while he lay bleeding on the store floor. McDonald was wounded and spent several days in St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital recovering before he was taken to the county jail. He was wheeled into court in a wheelchair.
McDonald declined to say anything before his sentence. But one of his attorneys, Tom Zena, told Judge Krichbaum that his client wanted the court to know it was not his intent to kill anyone when he walked into Mahdi’s store that day.
Assistant Prosecutor Natasha Frenchko said Mahdi’s father was notified of the plea by phone in New York City, where he lives. She said Mahdi’s father opposed the agreement, but she would not elaborate.
Nadil Aburahma, a Liberty businessman and good friend of Mahdi’s, had not heard about the guilty plea until contacted by The Vindicator on Friday.
“We’re happy.” He said. “We’re happy he pleaded guilty.”
Dan Qutail, another business owner in the Youngstown-area Arab community who was good friends with Mahdi, also said he is satisfied with McDonald’s sentence.
“Nothing is going to bring him back,” Qutail said.
He said, though, it would be enough to see McDonald in jail for the rest of his life where he would never be able to hurt someone else.
“It is fair enough,” he said.
Mohammed Abukwaik, a friend of Mahdi’s who worked with him, said Mahdi was generous to the people who came into his stores, and gave them money or clothes if they needed them.
“He would never let anybody down,” Abukwaik said.
Abukwaik said he could not understand why McDonald had to try to rob the store.
“I don’t know what he wanted,” Abukwaik said.
Abuenjeela said Mahdi would get upset if someone was in need and he could do nothing for them.
“He would get mad himself if he couldn’t help,” Abuenjeela said.
Seder said he was in the hospital five months ago and asked Mahdi to pray for him because he was very ill.
“He said, ‘You’re not going anywhere,’” Seder said. “Now he leaves behind seven daughters.”
Seder said Mahdi was godfather to his daughter. Seder said his daughter misses Mahdi so much that she still sends him text messages, even though she knows Mahdi cannot respond.
Contributor: Staff writer Jeanne Starmack