I-70 shootout suspect pleads guilty in federal court to crime spree

One of two men accused of a July crime spree that ended in a shootout with police on Interstate 70 pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to his role in multiple robberies.

Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to being an accessory after the fact to bank robbery, two counts of aiding and abetting robberies and two counts of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during the robberies.

A suspected third accomplice, Abdisamad Ismail, 19, shot at police, critically injuring one officer, and died in the July 6 shootout that left a Columbus police officer with critical injuries.

Jama and Faisal M. Darod, 23, of North Linden, were accused of the crimes on July 6 and later charged in September related to robberies committed on July 5.

Darod's case remains pending. Darod was also charged in the superseding indictment with robbing a GameStop on June 21 with Ismail and helping steal a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray on July 3.

Jama admitted in court Wednesday to roles in crimes on July 5 and July 6, including the theft of two luxury vehicles and multiple armed bank robberies, according to federal prosecutors.

He will be sentenced at a later date and faces up to life in prison. One of his crimes, aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence, carries a minimum five-year prison sentence.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth L. Parker's office announced the plea Wednesday.

According to the plea agreement, Jama admitted to helping Darod and Ismail on July 5 after they robbed a Fifth Third Bank on Fishinger Road in Upper Arlington. Jama met up with the men on West Sixth Avenue in Columbus and drove them to the Baymont Inn and Suites on Morse Road, allowing the men to ditch the stolen Corvette they used during the bank robbery.

At the hotel, Darod and Jama recorded a video of Darod lying on the bed surrounded by stolen cash and rapping about "cheese," slang for money, according to the plea.

The next day, on July 6, Jama served as a driver or lookout or both while his accomplices stole a 2020 Porsche Cayenne SUV from Byers Import on North Hamilton Road in Whitehall, according to the plea.

Shortly after that, Jama and Darod met up with Ismail at townhomes on the Southeast Side and drove the stolen Porsche, sometimes at speeds over 100 miles per hour, to Hilliard, according to the plea.

There, Jama served as the lookout while his accomplices robbed a Fifth Third Bank on Hilliard-Rome Road at gunpoint, according to the plea.

Aided by tracking software in the Porsche, Whitehall police had followed the vehicle to the bank and tried to block it in, but the SUV got away.

The men took the SUV onto I-70 eastbound, where they drove at speeds over 125 miles per hour, the plea states. It was around 4 p.m. and near rush hour.

Columbus police found the SUV. The vehicle was damaged, according to the plea, and stopped abruptly in the middle of two lanes of the interstate near West Mound Street.

While Jama and Darod fled the SUV on foot, Ismail fired at officers using a handgun with an extended magazine, according to the plea. Ismail struck one officer at close range, inflicting critical injuries. Police returned fire, shooting Ismail multiple times. He died of his wounds soon after.

Following the shootout, a manhunt ensued involving multiple law enforcement agencies.

Police arrested Darod on July 7 in Columbus while they took Jama into custody on July 8 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as he tried to board a flight to Turkey.

Jama's defense attorney, Owen Kalis, declined to comment as of Wednesday.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus I-70 shootout suspect pleads guilty for crime spree