COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday adding new charges against two men accused of being involved in a shootout with officers on Interstate 70 following a police pursuit.
The indictment charges 23-year-old Faisal Darod 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.
Aden Jama, 20, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the bank robbery, two counts of aiding and abetting robberies and two counts of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during the robberies.
Prior to 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 chase that eventually ended just west of downtown Columbus on I-70. Ismali was fatally shot by police. Darod and Jama were arrested 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.
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 penalty of at least five years to life in prison.