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TOLEDO -- The carryout clerk who killed a would-be-robber during a shootout last November pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday.

Judge Gary Cook ordered 28-year-old Bandar Abu-Karsh be released after he is booked and fingerprinted at the Lucas County Corrections Center.

Last November, two men entered Express Carryout in north Toledo armed with a semiautomatic weapon. Police said Lamar Allen, 25, and his accomplice, Joseph R. Hunter, intended to rob the business when Abu-Karsh, the clerk on duty, fired multiple shots at the pair.

Allen was killed during the shooting. Hunter fled the scene and was later arrested. Along with charges of felonious assault and aggravated robbery, Hunter was also indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter.

On Feb. 23, the Lucas County Grand Jury concluded Abu-Karsh did not act in self defense. He was indicted on a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Abu-Karsh's pretrial is set for March 28.