A South Jersey man who fatally stabbed a restaurant worker for cigarette money has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Eugene Carr Jr., 45, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of 59-year-old Sher Bahadar “Poppi” Khan on Dec. 29, 2020, in Salem, NJ.com reported Wednesday.
Carr has been behind bars for nearly five years and will get credit for time served, according to the outlet. As part of Carr’s plea deal, prosecutors agreed to not ask for more than 15 years in prison.
Khan was working at King Fried Chicken on the evening of the murder when Carr burst in and stabbed him to death, according to police. Carr was arrested a short distance from the scene carrying cash covered in blood.
Carr initially denied involvement in the crime, telling cops he saw another man stab Khan, hand him the cash and then sprint away. However, he later told officers that he killed Khan because a voice in his head told him “they … needed cigarettes,” Salem County assistant prosecutor Jon Flynn said in 2021.
Carr has an extensive criminal record and lengthy history of mental health issues, authorities said. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity for a 2017 armed robbery, then released from state custody to his family in 2020, months before he killed Khan.
Prosecutors told NJ.com that they offered Carr the plea deal because he could have once again been found not guilty by reason of insanity if the homicide case went to trial.
