Man found guilty in shoe seller robbery

AKRON, Ohio - An Akron man was found guilty Wednesday for the robbery of a shoe salesman.

Charles Peterson, 21, was one of three men thought to be involved with the Jan. 30 robbery of Abdulhmahdi Algarawi, who sold shoes out of his van, according to prosecutors.

The men arranged to purchase shoes from Algarawi, and showed up armed with a gun and stole the van and everything inside it, according to a news release. Police said the van was found two hours later, and that footprints in the snow led them to the suspect’s home in Akron. Algarawi’s belongings were recovered inside the house, police said.

Peterson was guilty of robbery, grand theft, and two counts of receiving stolen property.

The other culprits, Stephen Green and Edroy McCormick, both also 21, also pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery earlier this year. Green was sentenced to seven years in prison and McCormick faces sentencing on July 29.

In a separate robbery on April 22, Algarawi was shot and killed. The suspects, Deanthony Smith and Xzaiver Penwell, both 19 and of Akron, are scheduled for trial on Sept. 19.