‘You knew children were waiting for him at home’: Fremont mechanic gets 9 years for killing customer

DUBLIN — A Fremont mechanic has agreed to serve nine years in state prison for killing an irate customer, a sentence reached through a plea deal that allowed him to avoid murder and attempted murder charges, court records show.

Sylvester Carver, 27, was sentenced to prison in May, more than two years after he shot and killed 32-year-old Alli Safi following a confrontation at the now-defunct ASCO Auto Body shop on Allbrae Street in Fremont. Before he was sentenced, Carver heard from Safi’s loved ones in court, including the victim’s mother and widow.

“You made choice after choice that ended my husband’s life and destroyed my children’s future,” Safi’s wife, Clarissa Safi, said at the sentencing hearing. “You knew he was a husband. You knew he was a father. You knew young children were waiting for him at home. And despite knowing all of that, you still chose violence.”

Alli Safi’s cousin, Sadat Safi, said one of the things he’d remember most about his cousin was his “huge heart.”

“He would buy pizzas in Oakland and hand them out to people who were homeless,” Safi said. “After he passed away, I heard from so many people about his generosity. At his funeral, there were hundreds of people. More than I’d ever seen.”

As part of the deal, Carver pleaded no contest to a voluntary manslaughter charge. Prosecutors dropped murder and attempted murder charges against him, the latter alleging that Carver attempted to kill Alli Safi’s passenger, a close family friend.

Carver worked at the auto body shop, where Safi would occasionally show up to complain about how long they’d been working on one of his cars, according to authorities. On March 5, 2024, he and a friend went there, leading to a confrontation with Carver in front of the business. Safi’s friend, who testified at a preliminary hearing, said they had a gun in his car and he even asked Safi if he should “pop” carver right there, but Carver told him not to.

Instead, the men left. Carver allegedly followed them in his own vehicle and waited by an intersection, where he allegedly fired 18 times into their Toyota. The men returned fire but Safi was shot twice in the head, according to police.

Carver’s lawyer, now an Alameda County judge, argued in court that Safi’s friend was minimizing their own role in the violence, which included allegedly threatening Carver beforehand. He would have argued self-defense if the case went to trial, according to court records.

Carver spent about two years in jail while the case was pending. He remains in North Kern State Prison, where he was transferred on June 8, records show.