Jail sentence for lethal ‘sucker punch’
Jun 07, 2007 04:30 AM
Peter Small
Courts Bureau
A 20-year-old who killed another Halloween reveller with a “sucker punch” in a parking-lot dispute after his friend was refused a cigarette has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.
“While the incident is perhaps an isolated act for the accused himself, it is unfortunately in our community a manifestation of the type of macho confrontation which … ( has) become all too prevalent,” Superior Court Justice Edward Then said yesterday.
On March 23, he found Oleksiy Gorshkov guilty of manslaughter in the death of Dmytro Nikolaenko, 31, while acquitting his friend Denis Vald, 23, of the same charge.
The effective sentence imposed yesterday, before deductions for pre-trial custody and previous house arrest, was actually two years and three months.
On Nov. 1, 2003, the convicted man and victim were celebrating in separate groups at a Halloween party mainly for young people of Russian or Ukrainian extraction at Golden Lion restaurant near Islington Ave. and The Queensway.
Vald got into fight over a girl and was ejected from the party. As he stood in the parking lot with Gorshkov and friends in the early hours, Nikolaenko and his group emerged, heading for their car.
Vald asked for a cigarette, but Nikolaenko said he didn’t have any.
As Nikolaenko’s friends climbed into the car, one handed Nikolaenko his cigarette to hold. Vald noticed Nikolaenko with a cigarette and challenged him.
Angry words were exchanged in Russian, and Vald told Nikolaenko to “f— off.”
When Nikolaenko reacted, his friends left their car to lend support and Vald’s group, including Gorshkov, closed ranks.
That’s when Gorshkov hit Nikolaenko a “sucker punch,” the judge said.
Nikolaenko was knocked unconscious and “fell like a tree,” hitting his head on the pavement. He was pronounced dead a few days later in hospital.
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Moore called for a five-year sentence. Defence lawyer Paul Burstein sought 12 to 14 months, reduced to three months after time served.
Then said factors militating against a harsh sentence included Gorshkov’s youth, supportive family, steady work and education endeavours, and lack of a criminal record.
“I would like to apologize to the family of the deceased,” Gorshkov said, looking at Nikolaenko’s brother, Oleg. “At the time I had no idea the serious consequences my actions had.”
Oleg Nikolaenko, 43, said later the sentence should have been at least four years.
With time off for good behaviour, Gorshkov will likely serve only six months, he said.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/222623
The part where we hit his head on the ground was harsh.