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.
Robert Evans Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in an Owen Sound courtroom Friday morning for his actions in Rahman’s death in 2023, 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 imprisonment. 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 accepted the joint submission for Busby Evans and Barry Evans Friday afternoon after a brief recess in court.
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.
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.
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 tried to flee, and had a brief physical exchange with another worker from The Curry House who chased after him. Evans Jr. got away, and he and the other male youth were picked up in an SUV by Barry Evans, who drove them to Collingwood.
The next day, Barry Evans returned to a motel they were staying at in Owen Sound and convinced the clerk to provide their registration, the only physical record of the Evanses being there.
The father of Evans Jr., Busby Evans, was not in Owen Sound, but arranged for an airplane ticket for his son to leave Canada. Both Evans Jr. and Barry Evans left from Toronto for London, England on August 18, 2023.
Evans Jr. read an apology to 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. They accepted responsibility for helping Evans Jr. escape from the area, and then from Canada after the incident.
Evans Jr., Busby Evans and Barry Evans were extradited to Canada last year to face charges related to Rahman’s death, after being arrested in the United Kingdom in 2024. All three have remained in custody since they were arrested overseas.
BUSBY EVANS, BARRY EVANS SENTENCED
After a recess from Friday morning’s proceedings, court resumed and Justice Chorney accepted the joint sentencing submission from the Crown and defence for Busby Evans and Barry Evans.
They were sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, a punishment already served by the pair during their pre-trial custody periods.
“The fact they so swiftly left the country reinforces my belief they knew the severity of the offence,” Chorney adds.
The two will remain in custody pending further proceedings related to their statuses in Canada. Spectators in court heard Friday morning the Evanses wish to return to the U.K.
OWEN SOUND MAYOR COMMENTS ON RESOLUTION
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy issued a statement Friday afternoon after the guilty pleas in the Rahman case, and subsequent sentencing for two of the three men.
“Since the tragic loss of Sharif Rahman in August of 2023, our community has been seeking answers. I’m proud of the ways our community continues to honour Sharif’s memory, support his family, and continue his legacy of kindness,” Boddy says in a statement. “Today as we learn the outcome of the legal proceedings, we know that regardless of the sentences given, it’s never going to feel like enough, because the loss is forever.
“I encourage everyone in our community to continue to embody generosity and kindness towards one another in honour of Sharif Rahman and his family.”
*Editor’s note: This story was updated from an earlier version to add new information.