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Man sentenced to 7 years in beating death of Karim Meskine
7-12-2017
A 20-year-old man has been sentenced for the 2013 beating death of Karim Meskine near a New Westminster Skytrain station.
The offender — who was 16-years-old at the time of the attack — will serve a seven-year youth sentence.
Meskine was the victim of an unprovoked attack on Dec. 17, 2013 when he was on his way to catch the bus near the 22nd Street SkyTrain Station. He was struck in the head with a baseball bat.
He was taken off life support a few days later, having spent his 19th birthday in a coma.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, Meskine's mother, Julie L'Heureux, called the sentence "ridiculous and disgusting."
The Crown had asked for the man to be sentenced as an adult. The offender, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, will serve four years in custody followed by three years of supervision. He will not get credit for time already served.
Convicted of 2nd-degree murder
The accused was found guilty of second-degree murder in June 2016 following a four-week trial.
In opening arguments of the trial, the Crown described the crime as a robbery gone wrong, and said the accused and three other teenage boys had planned to steal a cellphone from someone they had arranged to meet on Craigslist.
When that person didn't show up, the accused was agitated and indicated that he wanted to hit someone, the Crown lawyer told the courtroom.
Meskine was the first to walk by, and the teen hit him in the head with a baseball bat.
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