Sharif Rahman, 44, died from his injuries sustained in an assault outside The Curry House. (Facebook photo)
The three United Kingdom men charged in relation to the death of Owen Sound restaurant owner Sharif Rahman have pleaded guilty to the charges they faced.
Robert Evans Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Rahman’s 2023 death in an Owen Sound courtroom Friday morning, while his father Robert Busby Evans, 49, and uncle Barry Evans, 56, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.
Justice Christopher Chorney accepted the guilty pleas, and heard joint sentencing submissions from the Crown and defence attorneys.
They submitted to the court Evans Jr. be sentenced to 42 months. That would leave him with about eight months left to serve given his pre-trial custody.
The sentencing submissions for Busby Evans and Barry Evans is 21 months, which would amount to time served for the period they’ve already spent in custody.
Chorney adjourned a sentencing decision for Evans Jr. until July 10, and will consider the other two Friday afternoon.
Rahman died on August 24, 2023 from injuries suffered a week prior outside his restaurant The Curry House in downtown Owen Sound, where he was punched in the face by Evans Jr.
Rahman left behind a wife and a young daughter.
Agreed facts were read in court Friday morning by the Crown. Evans Jr., his uncle Barry Evans and another male youth attended The Curry House on the evening of Aug. 17, 2023. The three ordered food and drinks, and received a bill of $145.43.
While Evans Jr. was outside for a smoke, the other two left the restaurant without paying. Rahman then confronted the men on the sidewalk area outside the restaurant.
It was then that Evans Jr. realized the other two he was with left without paying. According to the agreed facts, Rahman then demanded payment, pushed Evans Jr. twice, and held on to him to prevent him from leaving.
Evans Jr. then punched Rahman in the face, which caused him to fall back and hit his head on the sidewalk. Evans Jr. then ran away, and had a brief physical exchange with another worker from The Curry House who chased after him.
Grey County Assistant Crown Attorney Patrick Clement told the court Rahman’s widow, Shayela Nasrin, did not want to file a victim impact statement, but he relayed from her it’s been a “profound loss that has kept her and her child lost in every sense of the word.”
“This is a true tragedy,” Clement says.
Evans Jr. read an apology intended for Rahman’s family in court, expressing deep regret for what happened.
“This never should have happened. I didn’t mean for him to die,” Evans. Jr says. “There are so many things I could have done differently that day. I think about it every night.”
Defence lawyers for Busby Evans and Barry Evans also read statements of apology to the court on behalf of their clients.
More to come…