Friday, May 7, 2021

Store Owner Charged in Fight

From Racine County Eye:

RACINE – The owner of One Stop Foods, 1711 N. Main St., is accused of pistol whipping a man who he said threatened him at the store on Tuesday.

Iyad M. Alabed, 36, of Mount Pleasant, was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with aggravated battery, three counts of recklessly endangering safety, negligent handling of a weapon and pointing a firearm at another.

According to the criminal complaint, Racine Police were called to the store on a report of a man down and a second man with a firearm. Upon arrival, they found Alabed outside with a firearm and a man, identified as JC, on the ground “with his face and head completely covered in blood.” JC was transported to a local hospital for injuries that included a skull fracture, a ruptured eardrum and cuts requiring 10 stitches.

Alabed told police that JC had threatened to kill him in the store and made a gesture “as if to say he was armed,” the complaint stated. Alabed said he pistol whipped JC in the side of the head with his 9mm Taurus handgun, which resulted in the gun discharging into the ceiling. There were no other injuries.

Police spoke with two witnesses were inside the store delivering milk. One said that JC was using “bad words” toward Alabed and that Alabed struck him with the firearm and the altercation ended in the parking lot.

In a police review of the store’s surveillance video, JC “appears upset and is pointing in the store.” Later, Alabed is seen pressing the store’s holdup alarm and gets his firearm. He then forces through the plexiglass divider and strikes JC’s forehead with the gun. Alabed is seen striking JC across the face with the gun causing it to discharge. As JC opens the door to leave, Alabed places him in a headlock. Eventually JC is able to get away and falls back into the parking lot. While JC is on the ground, Alabed points the gun at him and repeatedly kicks him, the complaint stated.

After being placed under arrest, Alabed commented “maybe I lost my anger a little bit.” According to online court records, he made an initial court appearance on Wednesday where cash bond was set at $2,500. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 13 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave.

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