New indictment: I-70 shootout suspects accused of stealing another car, cash, PlayStations

Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
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A still image taken from a dashcam video Columbus police released Sept. 12 shows one of three suspects standing outside a stolen Porsche SUV in the middle of Interstate 70 east near West Mound Street during a July 6 police chase following an armed bank robbery.
A still image taken from a dashcam video Columbus police released Sept. 12 shows one of three suspects standing outside a stolen Porsche SUV in the middle of Interstate 70 east near West Mound Street during a July 6 police chase following an armed bank robbery.

A federal grand jury has added charges against the two men accused of a crime spree that ended with a shootout with police on Interstate 70.

The July 6 shootout led to the death of their suspected accomplice, Abdisamad Ismail, 19, and left a Columbus police officer with critical injuries.

Faisal M. Darod, 23, of North Linden, and Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg, were previously charged in federal court with aiding and abetting a bank robbery and using a firearm during the July 6 crime spree.

The new indictment returned Wednesday charges the pair in other armed robberies in the days leading up to July 6: another bank robbery, the theft of a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the theft of Playstation gaming consoles.

Authorities accuse the trio of stealing a 2020 Porsche Cayenne SUV on the afternoon of July 6 at gunpoint from Byers Imports on North Hamilton Road in Whitehall. The SUV was driven to a Fifth Third Bank branch on Hilliard-Rome Road on Columbus' Far West Side, where authorities accuse them of stealing more than $85,000.

The superseding indictment said Ismail's nicknames were "GTA" and "Grand Theft Auto," which is also the name of a series of video games in which players earn points by committing crimes.

Aided by tracking software in the Porsche, Whitehall police followed the vehicle to the bank and tried to block it in, but the SUV got away. Columbus police chased the SUV, which went onto Interstate 70 eastbound. The SUV stopped in the middle of two lanes of the interstate near West Mound Street, where at least one occupant began shooting at officers. One officer was critically wounded and others returned fire, killing one suspect as the other two fled over the hill from I-70 into the West Mound Street.

The additional robberies in which the defendants are now charged with aiding and abetting include:

  • Darod is accused of robbing GameStop on Hilliard-Rome Road on June 21 in Hilliard with Ismail.

  • Darod is accused of helping steal a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray from Auto Gallery on Westerville Road on July 3 in Minerva Park.

  • Darod is accused of being part of robbing more than $75,000 from the Fifth Third Bank on Fishinger Road on July 5 in Upper Arlington. Jama is accused of being an accessory after the fact to that crime.

The new 10-count indictment includes charges of aiding and abetting a bank robbery and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a violent crime.

If convicted as charged, Darod and Jama potentially face decades in federal prison.

U.S. marshals arrested Darod on July 7 outside his Columbus home. Homeland Security agents and U.S. marshals arrested Jama on July 8 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Both men remain in jail while their cases are pending.

Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this report.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: I-70 shootout suspects accused of more robberies in new indictment