An appeals court decided Monday that one of three men serving 28 years to life in prison for murder will go back to trial court for
resentencing.
Mohat Osman, 19, was convicted of aggravated robbery and felony murder after he, Phillip Boler, 30, Abdifatah Abdi, 19 and Hamda Jama, 23, led a robbery in 2009. The robbery, which took place in a New Marshfield trailer park, resulted in gunfire and the eventual death of bystander Donnie Putnam.
Osman appealed his case, claiming the murder was a result of the aggravated robbery and not an independent action.
The appeals court agreed with his claim and ordered a trial court to reconsider his sentencing.
Osman, Boler, Abdi and Jama went to Billy Osborne’s trailer intending to rob him. Gunfire followed, and prosecutors claim that Boler, Osman, Abdi, Osborne and two men inside the trailer all fired shots. It is not clear who fired the shot that killed Putnam, according to court documents.
Though the court agreed with Osman’s claims about his charges, they disagreed with four other claims in his appeal. The appeals court also ruled that the trial court erred, albeit harmlessly, in another
claim.
Osman claimed his convictions are supported by insufficient evidence and the court erred by admitting evidence of other bad acts, which the appeals court disagreed with. The court also disagreed that Osman’s Miranda rights were violated.
Boler and Abdi were also convicted of aggravated robbery and felony murder and are currently serving the 28 years to life sentence. Both are appealing their cases. Jama, who stayed in the car during the gunfire, took a plea agreement and is serving four years in prison.
ml147009@ohiou.edu
