Source: Office of United States Attorneys
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two central Ohio men were sentenced in federal court here today for committing crimes related to the July 6, 2023, shooting of a Columbus police officer. The men participated in a crime spree that involved the armed robberies of five high-end automobile dealerships, banks and gaming stores in and around Columbus and ended in a shootout with police officers on I-70.
Faisal M. Darod, 25, of Columbus, was sentenced to 300 months in prison. Aden Abdullahi Jama, 21, of Reynoldsburg, was sentenced to 156 months in prison.
“Violent crimes like these reverberate throughout the community. The victims of the armed robberies remain traumatized from being held at gunpoint and having their lives threatened. One accomplice is dead. And, though he survived this tragedy, one Columbus police officer was shot a number of times and was gravely injured,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Put simply, gun violence is never worth the resulting costs, including spending significant time in federal prison.”
“The gun violence committed by these defendants altered the lives of many victims, especially the hero Columbus Division of Police Officer who was wounded during the harrowing gun battle that ensued when Columbus Police bravely confronted the defendants,” stated Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “Thanks to the valiant action of Columbus and Whitehall Police, the violent crime spree of the defendants was stopped. ATF is proud to have led the investigation in collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure justice for all the victims and accountability for the defendants.”
Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant stated: “This case serves as a solemn reminder of the dangers brave officers of the Division face every day in the line of duty. I extend my appreciation to those in the U.S. Attorney’s office who worked to ensure that justice prevailed, holding the responsible individuals accountable.”
In spring 2023, Darod began making concerted efforts to obtain a firearm for a third man involved in the crimes. By June of 2023, Darod and the man began using a Glock handgun with extended magazine to commit a host of armed robberies.
According to court documents, on June 21, 2023, Darod aided in the robbery of a GameStop store on Hilliard-Rome Road in Hilliard. Darod and the other man initially planned to rob a bank that day, but mistakenly thought the bank would be open until 6pm. When they realized the bank was closed, they shifted focus to the GameStop instead, and, at approximately 6:15pm, robbed the store at gunpoint using the handgun with an extended magazine. Darod served as a lookout during the robbery.
On July 3, 2023, Darod drove the other man to the Auto Gallery on Westerville Road in Minerva Park, where the man robbed the car dealership owner at gunpoint. The man stole a 2016 Corvette Stingray. Over the next two days, Darod had others record several videos of him driving the Corvette around the parking lot of the Baymont Inn and Suites at Morse Road, where he had rented a room.
On July 5, 2023, Darod arranged for Jama to pick up him and another individual after they robbed at gunpoint the Fifth Third Bank on Fishinger Road in Upper Arlington. Following the bank robbery, Darod texted Jama and instructed him to meet up with them on West Sixth Avenue in Columbus and drive them to the Baymont Inn and Suites.
While at the hotel, Darod and Jama recorded a video on Darod’s cell phone showing Darod lying on the bed surrounded by the recently stolen cash. In the video, Darod raps about “cheese” – i.e., money, being in the air and everywhere.
The next day, on July 6, 2023, Darod aided and abetted an armed robbery at Byers Imports in Whitehall. He and Jama drove the third man to the car dealership to commit the robbery.
Shortly after the robbery, Darod and Jama met up with the other man at townhomes on the southeast side of Columbus. The three men then drove the stolen Porsche Cayenne, sometimes exceeding 100 miles per hour, to Hilliard to commit another armed bank robbery.
Darod and Jama again served as the lookout and aided and abetted the armed robbery and the use of a firearm during that robbery at Fifth Third Bank on Hilliard-Rome Road in Hilliard.
Unbeknownst to the three men, Whitehall police detectives had been tracking their movements using the Porsche Cayenne’s onboard GPS system. The detectives surrounded the stolen car at Fifth Third Bank and ordered the men to stop the vehicle. The other man drove the stolen Porsche through a gap in the detectives’ cars and fled over a grass embankment onto Hilliard-Rome Road, and, eventually, out to Roberts Road and the freeway.
Columbus police officers then located the stolen vehicle on I-70 traveling eastbound. The men reached speeds more than 125 miles per hour near rush hour while attempting to flee law enforcement.
The vehicle became damaged and came to an abrupt stop before Darod and Jama both fled on foot. The third man used the handgun with an extended magazine to ambush the responding officers. He opened fire from close range and struck one officer. That officer suffered life-threatening injuries. The driver of the stolen vehicle was struck several times and died of his gunshot wounds soon after.
Following the gun battle on I-70, a coordinated manhunt ensued for Jama and Darod. Darod was arrested in Columbus on the evening of July 7, 2023. By then, he had conducted several internet searches for flights out of Columbus to Somalia. U.S. Marshals and Homeland Security Investigation agents arrested Jama at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on July 8, 2023, bound for Turkey, with an ultimate destination of Somalia.
Both Darod and Jama pleaded guilty in October 2023. Darod pleaded guilty to all nine counts charged against him in a superseding indictment that was returned in September 2023. The crimes include aiding and abetting robberies and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during the robberies. Jama pleaded guilty 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.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; the United States Marshals in Columbus and Chicago; ICE and HSI Chicago; the Whitehall, Minerva Park and Upper Arlington police departments; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the sentences imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton and Special Assistant United States Attorney David J. Bosley are representing the United States in this case.
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