BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When Joshua Willis passed by the Save Way II and saw the yellow tape and police, he knew his friend must be involved.
The 20-year-old Mr. Willis was on his way home from work the morning of Nov. 22 when he passed by the east Westwood grocery. Immediately, his thoughts went to his pal Andre Miles, who told him a few days earlier he had been hired to kill the grocery's owner, Mr. Willis testified Thursday.
Mr. Miles, of Winton Place, still faces his trial on aggravated murder charges.
Mr. Willis was called by prosecutors as a witness in the aggravated murder trial of Ahmad Fawzi Issa. Mr. Issa, 28, is accused of hiring Mr. Miles to kill Maher Khrais, the owner of Save Way II. Mr. Khrais, and his brother, Ziad Khreis, were shot to death outside the store. Mr. Willis lives a block away.
Mr. Miles called Mr. Willis later that day and said he was responsible for the killings, and the gun was in a plastic bag in Mr. Willis' backyard, Mr. Willis testified. He went to the back of the house and saw the bag.
The next day, Mr. Miles stopped by Mr. Willis' home and repeated that he had killed the store owner and brother, and that Mr. Issa had hired him to do so, Mr. Willis said. But Mr. Willis didn't go to police.
About two weeks after the deaths, police took Mr. Willis in for questioning, and Mr. Willis told about Mr. Miles' bragging.
On Thursday, prosecutors used Mr. Willis' testimony to link Mr. Miles to Mr. Issa, the accused middleman who arranged the deaths.
