COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Reynoldsburg man who is charged with a string of robberies and the deadly shootout on Interstate 70 over the summer has entered a plea agreement.
Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to being an accessory after the fact to a bank robbery, two counts of aiding and abetting robberies and two counts of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during the robberies.
According to his plea agreement, on July 5, Jama aided and abetted Darod and another individual after they robbed at gunpoint the Fifth Third Bank on Fishinger Road in Upper Arlington. Specifically, Jama met up with the men on West Sixth Avenue in Columbus and drove them to the Baymont Inn and Suites on Morse Road. This allowed Darod and the other individual to abandon a stolen Corvette they used during the robbery.
He and 23-year-old Faisal Darod were charged in a 10-count superseding indictment stemming from the July 6 shooting of a Columbus police officer.
Darod was charged with aiding and abetting four other robberies in addition to the robbery of a Fifth Third Bank on July 6 that led to the chase.
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Before the Fifth Third Bank robbery, Darod and Jama allegedly stole a Porsche from a Whitehall dealership.
After the bank robbery, Darod, Jama and 19-year-old Abdisamad Ismali led police on a chase that eventually ended just west of downtown Columbus on I-70. Ismali was fatally shot by police. Darod and Jama were able to get away but were later arrested.
Separate from the alleged crime spree throughout central Ohio on July 6, the indictment also charges Darod and Jama with aiding and abetting in the robbery of a Fifth Third Bank in Upper Arlington the day before.
Darod was also charged in connection to a west Columbus GameStop robbery on June 21 and a robbery at a car dealership on the northeast side on July 3, where he is accused of helping steal a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray from the Auto Gallery on Westerville Road.
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Aiding and abetting a bank robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. 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.
Being an accessory after the fact of bank robbery is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Jama's sentencing will be determined at a later date.
Charges remain pending against Darod.