Man gets 60 years in fatal armed robbery at Gentilly Subway

A man charged with killing a Subway sandwich shop owner in an attempted armed robbery at the Gentilly store pleaded guilty Monday (May 13) and was sentenced in 60 years in prison.

Lavar Butler, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to being a felon in possession of a firearm, admitting he killed 51-year-old Adnan Alasar during a Dec. 6, 2017 robbery of Alasar’s Subway restaurant in the 2100 bock of Caton Street.

Alasar’s family and Criminal District Judge Paul Bonin approved the plea deal, according to District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office.

The attempted robbery was caught on surveillance video, according to New Orleans police. The video showed Alasar and Butler struggling over the gun, police said. A physical altercation started inside and spilled into the street.

Police said two shots were fired during the altercation. Alasar was shot in the chest.

Alasar, a father of three, and his wife were natives of Syria, and had been in the metro New Orleans area for about 20 years at the time he was killed. He owned two other Subway restaurants in Mid-City, on City Park Avenue and South Carrollton Avenue.

Friends said Alasar went out of his way to welcome customers. He’d make food that wasn’t on the menu and was known to give neighbors free meals.

'Confused, scared, sad': Killing of Gentilly Subway owner stuns family

Police identified Butler as a suspect two days after the shooting and he was arrested in California last July.

He was sentenced Monday as a double felony offender, as authorities said he had a 2015 aggravated robbery conviction in Texas. In that case, Cannizzaro said Butler was convicted of robbing a McDonald’s at gunpoint when he was a teenager.

Cannizzaro offered condolences to Alavar’s family, adding Butler “deserves every day of the six-decade sentence the judge imposed today to consider whether his own life was worth throwing away over a few dollars he chose not to work and earn.”

Assistant District Attorneys Michael Trummel and John Nickel prosecuted the case. Juan Fiol of the Orleans Public Defenders represented Butler.

via nola.com
https://www.nola.com

Lavar Butler pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to being a felon in possession of a firearm, admitting he killed 51-year-old Adnan Alasar during a Dec. 6, 2017, robbery of Alasar’s Subway restaurant. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison as a double felony offender. (courtesy of the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office/)