Clerk indicted for killing man in robbery(OH)

toledoblade.com ^ | 23 February, 2012 | ERICA BLAKE

[marktwain]

An employee of a North Toledo convenience store who shot and killed a man attempting to rob him was indicted by a Lucas County grand jury Thursday on a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Bandar Abu-Karsh, 28, of Moore Street, was charged with the shooting death of Lamar Allen, 25, who died Nov. 21 as the result of multiple gunshot wounds. Allen was with another man when they entered the Express Carryout on Mulberry Street and attempted to rob it.

If convicted of the charge, Mr. Abu-Karsh faces up to 11 years in prison. A summons will be issued for him to appear in court for an arraignment, which has not yet been set.

John Weglian, chief of the special units division of the prosecutor’s office, said that the issue the grand jury had to consider was whether self defense applied to Mr. Abu-Karsh’s actions throughout the entire incident.

“The issue was that although [Mr. Abu-Karsh’s] conduct was initially justified, the grand jury concluded that his subsequent conduct was not in self defense,” he said.

Mr. Weglian declined to comment on the facts of the case or say what conduct was considered not to be self defense.

Mr. Abu-Karsh could not be reached for comment. When reached by phone at the Express Carryout Thursday, owner Mamoun Awwad declined to comment, saying that he “didn’t know anything about it.”

According to police, Allen and an accomplice entered the carryout at about 9:45 a.m. Nov. 21. Once inside, Allen threatened the store clerk and began emptying the register of cash, police added. Allen collapsed after being shot multiple times. His accomplice shot at the clerk several times and fled.

[marktwain]

Prosecutors are known to have great influence on grand juries.

[Elle Bee]

Prosecutors are known to have great influence on grand juries no consequense for their actions.

.

[CanadianBloodAmericanHeart]

I don’t see the issue here...he should have killed them both.

[KarlInOhio]

What an amazingly information free article. It tells nothing about why the clerk was indicted. Was he just defending himself and the prosecutor has gone rogue? Or did the clerk put a couple of extra rounds into the robber after he was down and he’s lucky to not be up on a first degree murder charge? We’ll never know from this article.

[Ronin]

Just guessing, but I suspect the clerk pumped a few more rounds into the perp while he was laying on the ground.

Damage to the flooring was probably pretty conclusive.

But like I said, just a guess.

[CanadianBloodAmericanHeart]

Gotta make sure he wasn’t gonna rob him again...keep shottin’

[CanadianBloodAmericanHeart]

‘shootin’

[panaxanax]

If you shoot at me, you will be killed.

End of story.

[PapaBear3625]

More details here. The clerk shot the robber ten times with a 9mm. Probably in the stress of the moment he just emptied the magazine.

Regardless of whether he's eventually cleared, his legal expenses will be high, and he'll probably have to accept a plea bargain in order to not be completely ruined. This sucks.

[PapaBear3625]

Just guessing, but I suspect the clerk pumped a few more rounds into the perp while he was laying on the ground.

If the perp was still holding his gun, it doesn't matter if he was standing or on the ground, he could still have shot the clerk.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Unless there’s something we’re not being told her, this grand jury should immediately be disbanded and the prosecutor reprimanded.

[Mouton]

and on top of all that, even if he is acquitted, he will face a civil suit along with the owner of the store.

I’d love to see the store surveillance video of this action because it sounds to me like it was a running gun battle, two perps verses the store employee. He is lucky to be alive but will be ruined for life with all the court actions. I hope he has an adequate defense fund so he can have decent representation...

[csvset]

From a older article.

Store clerk shoots, kills robbery suspect

{snip} “He is gone but he is not forgotten,” Ms. Ratliff said. “He loved football. And he loved his nieces and nephews.”

Allen, who had felony convictions, had been released Oct. 7 from the Lucas County jail, where he was booked after being arrested and accused of disorderly conduct and failure to display a license plate, according to jail records.

He also was facing a felonious assault charge for allegedly shooting a girl in the hand during an altercation in June.{/snip}

It sounds as though Mr. Abu-Karsh did the citizens a favor. A lot more than the "government" has done for the citizenry in regards to dealing with Allen.

Dead perp

[BlazingArizona]

This prosecutor is probably betting that an inner-city jury will convict the clerk of “shooting while Ay-rab.”

[G Larry]

Fire until the threat is neutralized.

After that you’re in trouble.

Larger caliber, more practice, makes the first shots count.

[trebb]

“The issue was that although [Mr. Abu-Karsh’s] conduct was initially justified, the grand jury concluded that his subsequent conduct was not in self defense,” he said.

The story conveniently omits what the "subsequent conduct" was. With shots fired at the clerk, it would seem that, unless he stood over the guy he shot and popped a couple more rounds into him, the charges are a farce.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I was thinking the same thing, until the article mentioned that the prosecutor declined to describe what was done that was alleged to be not self-defense.

So the article only has half the story. What makes it even odder is that the article says both that the clerk was shot, and that he was lucky because he was not shot, or something like that.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

It's simple logic, really.

Bad guys came in shooting guns and bad guys died.

No bad guys come in shooting guns, no bad guys die.

[Oatka]

The deceased, stylished dressed and looking Ever So Cool, in better days:

[Doe Eyes]

I guess he thought killing the thieves was ok because its allowed under Sharia Law.