A jury took just five hours to convict a Brooklyn bodega clerk of first-degree assault for hitting a teen in the head with a hammer during an April 2008 brawl in his East New York store. Today's conviction will get 36-year-old Salah Ahmed, a Yemeni-immigrant, a minimum penalty of five years in prison, with a maximum of 25 years. Chaotic surveillance footage from the incident depicted several teens fighting with another bodega clerk over a perceived slight. Ahmed had been napping in the back room when the fight broke out; after waking up he charged at the victim, Bunkless Bovian, who was fifteen at the time, and hit him with the hammer. The teen survived, but testified last week that he still suffers from "bad headaches." Ahmed's lawyer had unsuccessfully argued that the attack was in self-defense, and speaking to reporters today said, "We're obviously disappointed. I think he's just stunned." Sentencing is scheduled for May 28th. more ›

Bunkless Bovian took the witness stand in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday to testify against deli clerk Salah Ahmed, who's on trial for hitting him on the head with a hammer during a brawl in his East New York store last April. Bovian (pictured), 16, told the jury he doesn't remember the details leading up to the incident, and only recalls "waking up in the hospital thinking I got stabbed... I still get bad headaches. Sometimes, I can't even lift my head off my pillow." But the attorney defending Ahmed pounced on the teen's testimony, asking, "You don't remember jumping on the counter and stomping on the clerk? Your memory seems to be a little selective. Do you remember anything bad you've done?" Bovian said he does recall being on friendly terms with Ahmed at one time, even helping him carry in sodas. But now the ninth grader thinks "he should go to jail. My dream was to go to the NBA... I used to get 30 points a game. Now, they hardly let me play." If convicted, Ahmed faces up to 25 years in prison. more ›

The owner of Munchies Bodega in Brownsville Brooklyn, Salah Ahmad, was indicted by a grand jury on assault and other charges for bludgeoning teenager Bunkless Bovian with a hammer. Bovian was placed in a medically induced coma following the incident last month, but has since been released from Brookdale University Hospital. more ›

Surveillance video from Munchies Bodega in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn shows, somewhat fuzzily, the circumstances that led to the bludgeoning of 15-year-old Bunkless Bovian by the store's owner ten days ago. The owner, Salah Ahmad, was charged with felony assault and Bovian was placed in a medically induced coma at Brookdale Hospital after the incident. more ›

A Brooklyn teen was bludgeoned last night by a bodega owner who accused him of stealing from his East New York Ave. store. The 15-year-old, Bunkless Bovian, got into a confrontation that turned physical with Ahmed Solaf, the store's owner, after he was accused of shoplifting. As the two fought, Solaf picked up a hammer and struck the teen in the skull. more ›