Two men who played a role in an assault that left the victim with serious injuries have been sentenced.
Steven Kaplan, who was convicted of aggravated assault earlier this year, will spend 8 months in jail while Kyle O'Brien, who was convicted of assault, was sentenced to probation for 12 months and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.
On the night of September 6, 2014, Kaplan asked O'Brien, who was a bouncer at Sapphire nightclub, to kick Michael Martin out of the club. Kaplan and Martin didn’t know each other, but they had gotten into a brief fight at a different club earlier in the night.
O'Brien obliged and dragged Martin outside where Kaplan's friend, Steve Kollie, sucker punched him, sending him to the ground unconscious. Neither O’Brien nor Kaplan approached the victim to help him.
Martin suffered a fractured skull, brain injury, and was in a coma for several days and hospitalized for several weeks. Court heard that he continues to have challenges since the assault, including a substance abuse problem, which doctors said he was at higher risk of developing because of his injuries. In a victim impact statement, his father wrote that he’s had to save his son from an overdose 3 times.
“It was savage, unprovoked and premeditated,” said Crown prosecutor Dave Grabavac “Mr. Martin was defenceless. He never had a chance. It was Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Kaplan collectively that were responsible for Mr. Martin being in that position.”
Family and friends of O’Brien celebrated when the judge sentenced him to no jail time, while Kaplan’s girlfriend broke down in tears when he was being taken away into custody.
Kollie is currently serving a 5 year sentence for his role in the assault.