Calgary dad disappointed in sentences given to 3 who killed his son

CALGARY — The father of an 18-year-old man who was killed by a group of people in 2013 is unhappy with the sentencing of the three men convicted in the case.

Lukas Strasser-Hird was beaten, kicked and stabbed outside the Vinyl nightclub in Calgary on Nov. 23, 2013.

Assmar Shlah and Franz Cabrera, who were found guilty of second-degree murder, were both sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 and 15 years respectively.

Joch Pouk was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in jail and with pretrial custody taken into account, could be out in less than two years.

Another man, Nathan Gervais, is wanted for first-degree murder in Strasser-Hird’s death.

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Dale Hird says his family continues to suffer as a result of that night, and for them, the nightmare isn’t over.

“We know they are going to appeal right away and continue to drag our family though this horror story,” Hird said.

“To be quite honest we are pretty disappointed.”

Hird had hoped Shlah and Cabrera would have been deemed ineligible for parole for 25 years.

“…So we are fairly disappointed that the opportunity is missed to send a real strong message for this type of merciless attack.”

Pouk’s lawyer said the sentence for his client was appropriate.

“My client is sincerely remorseful his actions,” said Rame Katrib.

“Keep in mind, this is a 20-year-old young man with no prior criminal record, he is devastated about what happened and he really does feel terribly for the family. We have some really young men who are going to be in jail for a very long time as the result of one night of stupid decision-making fueled by alcohol.”

(CTV Calgary)

The Canadian Press