North Side man gets minimum 11.5 years for homicide, assaulting officer

A North Side man will spend a minimum of 111⁄2 years in prison after admitting to his role in a January 2021 homicide and robbery, as well as assaulting a Columbus police officer earlier this month.

Sabab Islam, 20, entered guilty pleas on Monday to charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated robbery and assault on a peace officer in Franklin County Common Pleas Court as part of a plea deal, according to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office.

Islam admitted to his role in the Jan. 24, 2021 homicide of 14-year-old Dayvion Jones. According to Columbus police and court records, Islam and two other people held a man and woman at gunpoint outside a hotel on Westerville Road, stealing a cellphone and wallet.

Hours later, Jones was confronted around 4 p.m. on the 5300 block of Hazelwood Road on the city’s Northeast Side by Islam and the two other suspects, who were in a stolen SUV, records state.

Someone inside the SUV shot Jones, who was rushed to Ohiohealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, police said. Jones died at the hospital.

The SUV fled the scene but crashed, and the three people inside fled on foot, police said.

Islam and a second man, Aboubacar Toure, were arrested 16 days later in Detroit and charged in connection with the robbery and the homicide. Toure is awaiting trial.

On Tuesday, Alhaj Sankoh, 19, was indicted for aggravated murder in connection with the shooting death of Jones, according to the prosecutor’s office. Sankoh is in custody and no trial date has been set in his case.

Islam had been released from custody in September after posting $7,500, or 10% of a $75,000 appearance bond, on the robbery charges.

He was free on bond around 4:30 a.m. on April 9 when he crashed his vehicle on Interstate 670 near Grandview Avenue. Columbus police officer Justin Jones responded to the crash and spoke to Islam, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle “exhibiting extremely erratic behavior,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

Jones asked Islam to sit in the back of his cruiser, without being handcuffed, to avoid potentially being struck by a vehicle on the highway.

As they were walking back to the cruiser, Islam assaulted Officer Jones, “punching him in the face several times and attempting to gauge the officer’s eye,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Jones was able to gain control of Islam and handcuff him. Jones received treatment at Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center for his injuries.

On Monday, Islam was sentenced to a combined sentence of a minimum of 111⁄2 years and a maximum of 161⁄2 in prison.

The prosecutor’s office said Islam’s sentence was divided into 10 to 15 years for the involuntary manslaughter and robbery. He received an additional 18 months for assaulting Jones, which is the maximum sentence allowed by Ohio’s law governing assault on a police officer. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner