Teen pleads guilty in Howdy Bagel co-founder's fatal shooting in New Orleans
A 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty Friday morning in a New Orleans courtroom to the killing of the co-founder of Howdy Bagel, a popular Tacoma bagel shop.
Malik D. Cornelius pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court for the Jan. 5, 2024, death of 32-year-old Jacob Carter. Carter was shot while on vacation with his husband, Daniel Blagovich.
Carter and Blagovich opened Howdy Bagel in summer 2023 on South Tacoma Way after becoming a hit at local farmers markets. The couple traveled to New Orleans for New Year's Day and were attacked late at night on the outskirts of the Marigny neighborhood.
Cornelius' defense attorney, Michael Kennedy, said Friday that the plea deal called for his client to be sentenced to 26 years in prison. He said a sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 19.
The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
Kennedy said from a defense standpoint, he was pleased with the outcome of the case.
'A plea short of trial was preferable for Mr. Cornelius for several reasons, all of which are rooted in Louisiana law regarding juvenile defendants charged as adults and varying time calculations dependent on potential outcomes,' Kennedy said in a text message to The News Tribune.
Cornelius, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, 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.
Carter was born and raised in Texas. He started Howdy Bagel with Blagovich, from West Seattle, after the two were laid off from their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The storefront continues to draw out-the-door lines of customers from near and far for bagels, sandwiches and queer fellowship.
Former U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Democrat who represented Washington's 6th Congressional District, highlighted the impact of Carter's work in a speech in February last year on the floor of the House of Representatives. Kilmer said Carter was 'a light in Tacoma' and said Howdy Bagel was an inclusive gathering spot not just for the LGBTQ+ community but for anyone willing to make new friends with their neighbors.
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