Ohio: Owner of store shoots robber

Barberton, Ohio

From the Akron Beacon-Journal of July 11, 2009

Owner of store shoots robber

A Barberton store owner opened fire on two robbers Thursday night, and police believe one of them was a man whose body was later discovered outside Akron General Medical Center.

The body has yet to be identified. His accomplice has also not been identified.

Barberton Police Chief Michael Kallai said the robbery occurred at 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the 619 Brew Thru at Fifth Street Southeast and Snyder Avenue.

One of the men robbed a clerk and then, after being shot, fled with an undisclosed amount of money in a red Nissan Maxima sedan.

Police said store owner Morad A. Fares fired at the robbers. Fares, 22, declined comment Friday afternoon.

Kallai said the case remains under investigation. He said a prosecutor would ultimately decide whether Fares acted in self-defense.

Fares has told police that at least one of the robbers was armed.

Ohio law generally allows shop owners and homeowners to protect themselves when their lives are threatened.

Earlier this year, a West Akron pizza shop owner was exonerated of criminal charges by Summit County prosecutors, who ruled he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed an armed robber.

''I'm not going to say. That's up to the prosecutor,'' Kallai said of Fares. ''We're still waiting to get all the facts. We have to ID the deceased and the vehicle's driver before we make any decision.''

At about 10 p.m. Thursday, a man with bullet wounds was dumped outside Akron General. He later died.

The body remains at the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office as authorities try to identify him.

Police say the shooting victim was a light-skinned black male, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing about 200 pounds. He had a goatee and a discolored front tooth. He wore white jogging pants, a blue ''BOSS'' labeled T-shirt, a green hooded sweat shirt and a blue baseball cap.

The driver of the vehicle is described only as a white male in his 40s.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact Barberton police detectives at 330-745-2181.