A Detroit gas station clerk has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after locking customers in a store with a man who made good on his threat to shoot people if the doors were not unlocked.
Prosecutors say while 22-year-old Al-Hassan Aiyash was trying to stop a shoplifter from stealing from the convenience store he worked at, he trapped other customers inside the business and endangered their lives. During the incident, one customer was fatally shot, and now the county seeks to hold him responsible for the individual’s death.
Legal analysts say the prosecution will never be able to make that man criminally liable for the murder because he did not (nor intended to) pull the trigger. Still, if convicted of this charge, Aiyah could face up to 15 years in prison, the Detroit News reports.
Court records show that on Saturday, May 6, around 3 a.m., Aiyash was working at the Mobil gas station when Samuel McCray attempted to make a less than $4 purchase.
McCray attempted to pay for an iced tea and donuts on his credit card, but the bank declined payment. McCray still wanted his items, even though he could not pay for them, prosecutors say.
Aiyash was adamant that McCray could not leave without proper payment, causing the customer to become “increasingly hostile.”
“McCray became very agitated and continued to argue with Aiyash. The evidence will show that eventually, unknown to the three men, Aiyash pushed a security button to unlock the door, but failed to tell the men seconds before McCray began shooting at the three men,” according to a press release written by Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller.
According to Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Anna Posigian, Aiyash locked the doors to prevent McCray from leaving, also trapping inside the space three innocent customers.
Attorney Jamil Khuja is representing Aiyash and says his client called the police and only locked the door to stop McCray from leaving.
For nearly eight…
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