Plea deal rejected in Prole attack

A Kitchener judge has rejected a plea bargain reached in connection with a brutal assault on a 19 year old man.

The deal, agreed on by the crown and the defence, asked for a six month sentence for the two accused. But the judge increased that to two years less a day.

The change in sentencing came as such a shock, that one of the accused, 23 year old Michael Shumacher, called out in court. He was later taken to hospital with an unknown medical condition. His hysterical girlfriend was also helped from the courtroom.

In explaining his decision, Justice Bruce Fraser referred to the horrific facts of this case and the testimony given by the victim in a preliminary hearing.

Tyler Prole told the court he’d been punched, had his hands bound and was forced into a car, after going to the home of an acquaintance in Paris. He said during the ride, he was repeatedly hit and threatened with death. He also said Schumacher and his co-accused, Gregory King, 29, even talked about burying him.

Prole was eventually dumped in a field in his stocking feet, where he blacked out. A passerby found him wandering on the road, disoriented, and called police.

Crown attorney David Russell says he’s not surprised the sentence was increased, but says it’s clear why prosecutors agreed to the six months in the first place. “No downside to the crown. If we go to trial then he might be acquitted.”

“Also our victim wanted an end to this, and did not want to even come to court. It certainly reflected his wish. But the bottom line is, if it went before a jury the outcome who knows what might happen.”

As for the shock factor, King’s defence attorney Terry MacKean says defendants are always made aware that even where a deal is reached, the decision on sentencing ultimately rests with a judge. This judge made it clear he wanted the sentence to serve as a deterrent.

And finally in yet another twist and turn in this case, MacKean asked that the sentence be increased once again to a full two years, so that his client would go to a penitentary where more rehabilitation programs would be available.