COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A second man has been convicted on charges related to the death of an Ohio religious leader who was killed in a failed robbery attempt. Isaiah Brown-Miller, 23, was found guilty on Friday of kidnapping and aggravated robbery in connection to the December 2021 death of 48-year-old Columbus imam Mohamed Hassan Adam.
This was Brown-Miller’s third trial, with a previous co-defendant being convicted of murder in the case. The Franklin County jurors deliberated for about 14 hours over two days and twice reported an impasse before arriving at the guilty verdicts. The judge revoked his bail and will sentence him to prison at a later date. Prior trials in February and June had ended in mistrials after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
The victim, Adam, was a well-known figure in the local Somali community, serving as the longtime imam at Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque on the northeast side of Columbus. He was found dead of multiple gunshots in a van, two days after he went missing during a trip to pick up a child from day care.
During the trials, prosecutors alleged that the defendants were attempting to obtain money from Adam and possibly from the mosque’s funds to which the imam had access. They also stated that there was no indication Adam was targeted because of his faith or because he was a member of the Somali community.
Brown-Miller was not charged with murder in the case, as the October jury had already convicted his co-defendant, 47-year-old John Wooden, of aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and other charges in Adam’s death. Wooden faces a mandatory life term in prison and at least 20 years before being eligible for parole. One of his attorneys alleged that the prosecution’s case against Wooden was built on assumptions and police failed to follow all leads.
The judge will sentence Brown-Miller to prison at a later date, following his conviction on Friday.