COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Two men accused of robbing a bank, leading police on a high-speed chase and engaging in a shootout in Downtown, Columbus have been indicted.
Aden Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg and Faisal Darod, 23, of Columbus were indicted on two charges – aiding and abetting bank robbery and the use of a firearm in a crime of violence, by a federal grand jury Friday morning.
Jama and Darod have been in custody after a crime spree in which three men allegedly drove off in a stolen Porsche and robbed a bank in west Columbus before exchanging gunfire with police on Interstate 70. The incident occurred on July 6 when the suspects entered a Fifth Third Bank.
An officer was shot by one of the suspects during the pursuit and one of the suspects Abdisamad Ismail, 19, was shot and killed by CPD on I-70 following the chase.
The pursuit began around 2 p.m. Thursday, July 6 after several law enforcement agencies responded to reports of an armed robbery at a Porsche dealership on the 400 block of North Hamilton Road in Whitehall, said Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert.
There, three men demanded the keys to a black Porsche SUV and drove it to rob a Fifth Third Bank on the 2400 block of Hilliard Rome Road on the city’s west side, police said.
Law enforcement agencies and at least two police helicopters followed the stolen Porsche to I-70 near West Mound Street, where a shootout began. According to Albert, multiple officers discharged their weapons during the standoff. Two guns — a Glock handgun with an extended magazine and a semiautomatic handgun — were recovered at the scene.
The injured officer was taken to Grant Medical Center and his last known condition was stable.
Darod was arrested the morning of July 7 outside of his Columbus home and Jama was arrested on July 8 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport by the United States Marshals Service. He had purchased a ticket leaving at 12:35 p.m. for Turkey.
Investigators said technology helped find the two suspects, and that includes Whitehall police, who gained access to the security system at the car lot where the group allegedly stole a Porsche.
As well, body camera footage and 911 calls were released by the Whitehall Division of Police to help piece together the series of crimes that preceded a shootout between the officers and armed suspects,
The Office of the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio said aiding and abetting a bank robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. As well, aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a potential penalty of at least five years and up to life in prison.
