Toronto man gets ‘most lenient sentence’ for robbery and knife attack that left rival dead

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. Photo by Dave Thomas/Postmedia/File

Article content

A man convicted of ripping off a rival’s gold chain in Toronto over a $100 debt and slashing his face with a knife has convinced a jury that he stabbed his victim to death in self-defence and will serve just 21 more months behind bars, though the judge said a longer sentence could “easily be justified.”

Article content

A jury in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice convicted Tamar Enoch Cupid last fall for the 2023 robbery and aggravated assault of Ifeanyichukwu Gabby Oseke in the Knob Hill Plaza, but found him not guilty of manslaughter.

Article content

Article content

Article content

The jury “accepted, or at least had a reasonable doubt as to whether, the accused caused the death of Mr. Oseke in lawful self-defence,” Justice Kenneth Campbell wrote in a recent decision.

Article content

Article content

“Nevertheless, it must be said that the accused personally started the series of events that eventually led to the death of the deceased.”

Article content

The court heard that Cupid, his girlfriend and another friend identified only as O arrived at the plaza near the intersection of Brimley Road and Eglinton Avenue East on June 25, 2023, in a black BMW sedan.

Article content

Oseke was sitting in the front passenger seat of a black sport utility vehicle parked in the plaza.

Article content

Cupid approached Oseke and chatted with him briefly.

Article content

“This conversation may have been about a $100 debt that the accused claimed was owed to him by Mr. Oseke,” said the judge.

Article content

“During this brief conversation, the accused reached into the SUV and ripped off the gold chain from around the neck of Mr. Oseke. This led to Mr. Oseke getting out of the SUV, and onto the sidewalk, engaging in further conversation with the accused and picking up some of the broken pieces of his gold necklace from the ground.”

Article content

Article content

That’s when O punched Oseke in the face, retreated to the BMW and drove away.

Article content

Article content

“Mr. Oseke then drove the SUV after the BMW, almost striking the accused in the parking lot in the process. After pursuing this unknown man briefly in the black SUV, Mr. Oseke returned to the plaza, parking the SUV in, essentially, the same location as before.”

Article content

After Oseke got out of the SUV, Cupid “immediately slashed” his face “with a knife that he had surreptitiously taken from his pants pocket and held at his side,” said the judge.

Article content

“This knife slash cut Mr. Oseke under his left eye across his left cheek and into his nose. This immediately resulted in a fairly lengthy physical confrontation between Mr. Oseke and the accused, with the accused continuing to stab at Mr. Oseke with his knife. At the conclusion of this lengthy confrontation, as the accused was trying to escape with his girlfriend, the accused stabbed Mr. Oseke in the chest with his knife, ultimately killing him.”

Article content

The Crown recommended Cupid get four years in prison. His lawyer argued for less.

Article content

Cupid, now 28, had served 494 days (just over 16 months) behind bars before his sentencing, according to the June 16 decision.