Hay River (July 07/03) - A Hay River man has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for manslaughter.

The sentence for Pavel Bruha was handed down July 3 by Justice John Vertes of the NWT Supreme Court.

Following a two-week jury trial ending June 27, Bruha, 52, was convicted in connection with the beating death of a Hay River man early last year.

The victim was 50-year-old Yves (Frenchie) Lebel, who was discovered dead at the Cedar Rest Motel on Jan. 17, 2002.

Bruha denied any involvement in Lebel's death.

In his summary of the evidence, Vertes noted Bruha and another man, Craig Stromberg, had attacked Lebel because of suspicions and rumours that Lebel was having an affair with Bruha's wife.

In July of last year, Stromberg, 36, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Under the influence of alcohol, Bruha and Stromberg had gone to Lebel's residence to teach him a lesson.

After Stromberg kicked the door open, Bruha struck Lebel in the face. Stromberg tossed the victim onto a bed and he rolled onto the floor, and appeared to be knocked out.

Vertes noted that, 30 minutes after leaving Lebel's room, Stromberg showed some concern and called the RCMP and asked them to phone Lebel. The RCMP did phone and spoke to someone believed to be Lebel, who said he did not need assistance.

The judge said Lebel later died of subdural bleeding -- bleeding from an internal body injury -- caused by an injury several hours prior to his death, and the fact he may have answered the phone is not surprising.

Vertes said the gravity of the offence was elevated by the two offenders acting in concert to beat up the victim, the fact the attack was somewhat premeditated, and that they forced their way into Lebel's room.

Worth something

Stromberg received a shorter term of imprisonment than Bruha because Stromberg pled guilty, Justice Vertes explained.

"In my opinion, a guilty plea must be worth something," the judge said, adding Stromberg also showed remorse.

The judge recommended Bruha serve his jail time at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre or some other Northern institution.

After sentencing, the judge told Bruha he could be out of jail in as little as a year.

The Crown had sought a sentence of six years.

No mistrial

During the sentencing stage, Crown attorney Loretta Colton revealed she had cross-examined Bruha on his criminal record, even though he had been pardoned for five of the offences.

Noting she did not know of the pardon at the time, Colton admitted the questioning was a mistake and apologized to the court.

Bruha's lawyers were also not aware of the pardon.

Defence attorney Hugh Latimer filed an application for a mistrial because of the questioning on the criminal record.

He argued the information may have negatively influenced the jury's opinion of Bruha's credibility as a witness and prejudiced his right to a fair trial.

Vertes dismissed the mistrial application, saying he did not believe the criminal record affected the jury's decision.

However, he expressed displeasure with the lawyers for not being aware of the pardon. "I must say in all honesty I am extremely upset and angry over this."

Following sentencing, Latimer declined to say whether the conviction might be appealed.