Man sentenced in store owner’s slaying

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) A man convicted of killing a local convenience store owner late last year was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 100 years in prison.

According to 24-Hour News 8 sister station, WANE,Sanchez K. Williams, 26, was sentenced by Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull to 91 years for the December 2014 murder and robbery of Moath Nassir, the owner of Big Al’s Convenience Store on McKinnie Avenue. A jury found Sanchez guilty June 25.

Gull handed down a 65-year sentence for the murder and six years for the robbery. She then added 20 years for the use of a firearm in the commission of an offense resulting in death.

An additional count of murder was vacated on grounds of double jeopardy.

Nassir, a revered local business owner, was found shot outside of his shop Dec. 29, 2014, after what police at the time called an attempted robbery. He died the next morning. An autopsy ruled he died from a gunshot wound.

The crime was caught on surveillance video, part of which was later released by police to help find the person responsible. Days after Nassir’s death, hundreds of people on the southeast side rallied for justice at the store.

Williams was arrested in April for the killing. He was on parole at the time of the shooting.

Tuesday morning, Williams appeared to show little remorse, gesturing to Nassir’s family and saying, “Sorry for your loss.” He also said, “I’ve got kids, too. I need to see my kids.”

Nassir’s girlfriend, Audrey Elliot, spoke at the sentencing. The pregnant woman said Nassir did not know the couple was expecting a child when he was killed, and she told Gull her unborn daughter will never know her dad.

“I just want him (Williams) to know she’s (the child) never going to know her dad,” Elliott told the judge.