Melville Man Indicted for Murder of Brooklyn Restaurant Owner: DA

A Melville man was indicted Monday for killing an Italian restaurant owner outside of his Brooklyn home this summer in cold blood, according to Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

Andres “Andy” Fernandez, 40, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life for his alleged actions.

Gonzalez said Fernandez’s crime was a calculated, senseless murder of a beloved business man. “We allege that [Fernandez] was lying in wait outside the victim’s home, then ambushed and shot him to death in cold blood,” he said in a press release.

On June 30, the DA says Louis Barbati, 61, the owner of L&B Spumoni Gardens Italian Restaurant, located at 2725 86th St. in Gravesend, left his restaurant carrying a plastic bag containing $15,000 in cash at 6:40 p.m.

Barbati arrived at his at his Dyker Heights home, parked his car at the side of the residence and got out holding the bag of cash. That was when Fernandez, who was waiting for Barbati to arrive for about an hour, walked across the street and shot the restaurant owner several times, killing him, the DA says.

Fernandez ran away, entered a late-model Acura and fled the scene without taking the money, the DA says.

Fernandez was present at both the murder scene and at L&B Restaurant earlier that day, according to the DA investigation.

Several witnesses identified Fernandez after surveillance images of the suspect were distributed by the New York City Police Department. He was arrested by federal authorities on Nov. 3.

Fernandez was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was held without bail.

Image of L&B Spumoni Gardens Italian Restaurant via Google Maps