A second man convicted of manslaughter in the 2008 stabbing death of Abbotsford teenager Harvey Hans was sentenced Friday to just under five years in prison.

Amrit Gill, 23, who was convicted in October, was sentenced to five years less two months time served by Justice William Grist in Chilliwack Supreme Court.

The death of the 18-year-old victim was the result of an early morning brawl on May 24, 2008 that ended in Hans's throat being slashed outside his Abbotsford home in the 31600 block of Ridgeview Drive.

Earlier the night he was killed, Hans had gotten into a fight and punched the younger brother of another man, Gill's co-accused, Shavinder Brar.

Brar was sentenced to five years behind bars in June.

Grist stated evidence showed that Brar, Gill and a number of friends waited outside Hans's house, where they set upon the young man when he returned home.

Previous to the fight, witnesses reported Gill holding a shiny object in his hands and coaching Brar about what to do in the fight.

It was also determined that after Brar attacked Hans, Gill used a Taser on one of the victim's friends.

Police arrived after receiving 9-1-1 calls to find Hans collapsed on his front lawn, bleeding profusely from the throat.

The slash from the murder weapon was forceful enough to completely sever Hans's esophagus, trachea, and an artery to his head.

He was pronounced dead at the former MSA Hospital 10 hours after the attack.

Grist dismissed defence counsel's argument that since evidence showed Brar likely stabbed Hans, Gill should get a shorter sentence.

"The degree of culpability considered here is essentially the same," said Grist, adding the charge of manslaughter can range from near accident to near murder.

"This was not a case of near accident," he said.

"It was an act of retribution in which each [of the accused] prepared and planned for a confrontation."

Grist was also not convinced Gill was truly remorseful for his crime.

In a letter to the court Gill had apologized to the Hans family.

But the young man spent most of it recounting the negative results that his actions had had on himself and family, noted Grist.

"There was little to indicate true remorse for the tragic loss of Mr. Hans . . . and a greater number of self-centered comments than true expressions of regret," Grist said.

Friends and family of both the victim and Gill had packed the courtroom to hear the sentence.

Security at the courthouse was high with metal detectors set up at the courthouse entrance and four sheriffs guarding the courtroom.

Supporters from each of the parties were separated and assigned seats on opposite sides of the room.

Following sentencing, the victim's mother Harminder Hans could no longer contain her emotions.

Upon exiting the courthouse, she began sobbing uncontrollably.

A circle of crying relatives immediately flocked round and she was escorted away from the scene to a nearby car.

Hans, a talented basketball player, was just weeks away from graduation at Rick Hansen Secondary when he died.

His uncle Gurlal Rai said the family continues to grieve, and the sentence wasn't severe enough to deter other youth from engaging in violence.

"We accept the judge's decision, but it won't heal our wounds," said Rai.

"Harvey was a great guy. A great athlete. God knows how the family will recover. "Every second we think about him."

RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com

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