Teen who killed Tacoma business owner in New Orleans sentenced. Judge apologizes

Yahoo

19-05-2025

The 17-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to the fatal New Orleans shooting of Jacob Carter, a co-founder of the Tacoma business Howdy Bagel, was sentenced Monday to 26 years in prison.
Instead of speaking for himself, the defendant, Malik D. Cornelius, had his attorney address the court and the scores of friends and family members of Carter who gathered in a New Orleans courtroom and on Zoom video to watch the hearing Monday afternoon.
Defense attorney Michael Kennedy said Carter was not the usual victim in cases he's seen in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, and Cornelius was not the usual defendant at his young age. He said as much as he wanted to speak about the young man he had come to know, the only thing they actually needed to say was that they are sorry.
Before handing down Cornelius' sentence, Judge Camille Buras offered her own apology to Carter's friends and family.
'On behalf of the city, we are sorry for what happened in this city to your loved ones,' Buras said.
Cornelius pleaded guilty to manslaughter May 9 in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court for the homicide.
The judge called the crime a 'cold, calculated murder' that could have been a double homicide. Others testified Friday that Cornelius' gun jammed during his attempted robbery of Carter and his husband, Daniel Blagovich, and if not for that, Blagovich would have been shot, too.
The Jan. 5, 2024, shooting occurred while the couple was on vacation. The night before the two were going to fly home to Tacoma, they were attacked near the intersection of Bourbon and Kerlerec streets. Buras questioned whether it was a hate crime or whether Cornelius and his accomplices just targeted two unarmed men walking down the street. No one else has been charged in the killing.
Nothing was stolen during the robbery except Carter's life.
Blagovich, who gave a victim-impact statement via Zoom video, said the past 500 days had been the darkest of his life. He told Cornelius that he had stolen the love of his life and killed a man who had only brought beauty, light and joy into the world.
'As I held him and watched the life leave his body on that dark concrete corner, my world was forever changed,' Blagovich said. 'I realized the world is a much more terrible place than I ever could have imagined.'
Blagovich told Cornelius the one thing they had in common was that both of their lives would be forever changed because of what he had done. He said he had 'so much' hatred in his heart for what Cornelius had done, but Carter taught him that only love changes anyone.
'Malik, your life is just getting started,' Blagovich said. 'It's not my desire for you to rot in jail. It's not my desire for you to feel pain. As we both learn to find hope again, my biggest prayer for you is that at some point in your long life you experience love.'
Six more of Carter's family members addressed the court during the Monday afternoon hearing, including his aunt, three of his brothers, a sister and his father. More than 100 people watched on Zoom.
The defendant was 16 at the time of the shooting, and he was arrested about a week later on unrelated charges in Jefferson Parish. Days earlier detectives pulled a stolen Kia out of Bayou St. John believed to be connected to the homicide. NOLA.com reported that, according to police, Cornelius allegedly helped others sink the vehicle and then the group stole another car to get away.
A grand jury indicted Cornelius on the charge of second-degree murder, and his case was transferred to adult court.