Man indicted in Toledo killing faces additional charge

4/10/2008

A man indicted last week by a Lucas County grand jury on aggravated murder and murder charges stemming from a fatal shooting during the robbery of a North Toledo carryout in 2004 was indicted yesterday on a murder charge with a firearms specification related to the same incident.

Yvan Garcia, 24, was in the county jail without bond.

Authorities believe he was the driver of the getaway car used during a fatal robbery at Tamara's Carryout, 328 Columbus St.

The murder charge with a firearms specification should have been included with the original indictment, but was left off because of an oversight, said John J. Weglian, special units division chief for the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office.

Misada Shalan was sitting behind a counter in the store about 10:25 p.m. Jan. 10, 2004, when Pedro Diaz and Ronald Whitfield tried to rob the carryout. Diaz fired a handgun at the ceiling, startling Whitfield, who fired a 30-caliber rifle at Ms. Shalan, killing her.

Her husband, Fuad Shalan then gave money from the cash register to the men.

Whitfield, 23, was convicted in 2004 of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery and is serving a sentence of 32 years to life in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.

Diaz, 30, was convicted in 2005 of murder and aggravated robbery and is serving a 26 years to life sentence in the Toledo Correctional Institution.