Giovanni Bucchianico was killed in front of his family in a “savage” attack led by a pack of young men in 2019 in Montreal. Should one of the attackers, Tanvirul Haque, be sentenced to five years in prison for his “key” role, or should he be granted court leniency due to his “full” rehabilitation?
The Crown and the defense presented positions on Thursday diametrically opposed to submissions on the sentence of Tanvirul Haque, a 22-year-old Montrealer who pleaded guilty to manslaughter last March. The young man was involved in the brutal death of a father of six children on July 20, 2019 in the Villeray district.
That evening, 24-year-old Johnny Hachey Bucchianico was beaten up by other young men. Coming in as reinforcement, his father Giovanni Bucchianico presented himself with a baseball bat to a party BBQ where the attackers were. But the father and son did not have time to react as they were attacked by several men on the sidewalk.
It was Tanvirul Haque who tripped Giovanni Bucchianico, as the latter was backing up. The young man then hit the victim four to five times on the ground. Within a minute, Giovanni Bucchianico was trampled, brutally beaten with a stick and stabbed 14 times. A video shown on Thursday shows the extreme brutality of the attack.
The “main actor”, Noah Pépin, was sentenced last July to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 12 years for second degree murder. The other attackers received various prison terms depending on the degree of their involvement.
In the eyes of the Crown, Tanvirul Haque is a “key player in this group attack”, having tripped the victim. “It is he who places the victim in a position of complete vulnerability, while he knows that the others are in attack mode”, pleaded Me Mathieu Locas. Moreover, at that moment, Noah Pépin shouts that he is going to “kill” the victim.
So Tanvirul Haque was clearly “attacking” and not “defending”. His beatings were “powerful” and “without moderation,” argued the prosecutor, who suggests a five-year prison sentence.
“Disarmament”
According to the defense, Tanvirul Haque’s “sole objective” was to “disarm” the victim. “What he sees is two men who charge them aggressively while shouting”, pleaded Me Maya Amar, emphasizing the context of “provocation”. Moreover, he could not have known that the father would be stabbed afterwards.
Since then, Tanvirul Haque has completely changed his life, argued Mr.e Amar. Therefore, a prison sentence should not be imposed on the accused, who has already spent two months in prison. And if a prison sentence were to be imposed, it should be less than two years. “The company benefits from having Mr. Haque”, pleaded Me Amar. “He has already paid dearly. ”
Tanvirul Haque is involved in his mosque, has cut ties with all his bad company and has deep remorse, listed his lawyer.
“What I have done is completely wrong [wrong]. […] I am disgusted with myself. I acted in a completely bad way because of the fear, ”testified Mr. Haque. He claims to have “changed his life” and put his energies on religion, school and work.
Judge Karine Giguère will render her decision next March.