COLUMBUS – A 24-year-old Columbus man was sentenced to at least 26 years in prison for his role in the 2021 murder of a prominent imam in South Linden.
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Karen Held Phipps yesterday sentenced Isaiah Brown-Miller in the fatal shooting of Mohamed Hassan Adam, an imam at the Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque and a leader in the local Muslim and Somali communities, according to a release from the office of Franklin County Prosecutor G. Gary Tyack.
Brown-Miller and his accomplice, John Wooden, were accused of kidnapping, robbing and fatally shooting Adam in a South Linden parking lot on Dec. 22, 2021, in a vacant lot in South Linden.
A jury in January convicted Brown-Miller of kidnapping and robbery, and Wooden was found guilty in October of aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery and will be sentenced on Thursday.
Bar owner, security guards convicted in 2022 shooting death
Jurors on Monday convicted two men in connection with the fatal shooting of a man outside an East Side bar, prosecutors said.
Charles Williams, 36, was found guilty of murder and other charges in the death of Jeff Chandler in October of 2022, and jurors returned a guilty verdict against co-defendant Lee Gill, 49, of Pickerington, who was charged with tampering with evidence.
Authorities said Williams shot Chandler at the Platform Lounge on Country Club Road, which was owned by Gill and where Williams was working as a security guard.
Following an argument, Gill, armed with a 9mm handgun, and Williams, who was using a rifle, chased Chandler down and shot him to death.
Evidence determined Chandler was killed by a round consistent with a rifle while rounds consistent with a 9mm handgun were fired in his direction as well, according to a release from the office of Franklin County Prosecutor G. Gary Tyack.
The jury found Williams guilty of one count of murder, one count of felonious assault, one count of discharge over a road and a count of tampering with evidence. He faces a minimum of 21 years in prison when he is sentenced April 5.
Gill was found guilty of one count of tampering with evidence and his sentencing date has not been set. He faces a minimum of one year and nine months in prison.