Men sentenced for roles in brutal assault outside Kelowna nightclub

Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a brutal Kelowna nightclub assault. On Sept. 6, 2014, Michael Martin attended the Liquid Zoo nightclub, outside of which he was involved in two fights with Steven Kaplan.

Kaplan also arranged for his friend, Steven Kollie, to assault Martin outside the Sapphire nightclub later that evening, the court heard.

Martin was inside Sapphire when Kaplan and Kollie arrived at the entrance to speak with Kyle O’Brien, one of the bouncers at the club, to enlist his help.

In surveillance video shown during the trial, O’Brien is seen physically ejecting Martin, carrying him by his head and shoulders, with his feet off the ground.

Outside the club, Kollie punched Martin in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Martin was hospitalized for three weeks and was in a coma for several days.

In March, Justice Allan Betton found Kollie guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced him to five years in jail.

“It was Mr. Kaplan and Mr. O’Brien collectively that were responsible for Martin being in that position,” said Crown prosecutor David Grabavac in court Friday.

Betton found Kaplan guilty of aggravated assault and O’Brien guilty of assault in March and sentenced both men Friday afternoon.

“These are indeed unusual circumstances,” he said. “Neither of these accused hit the victim, but each of their actions played a role in the assault occurring and Mr. Kollie striking the victim with the resulting serious and long-lasting injuries.”

Betton ruled the punch was not a spontaneous incident.

“Certainly from Mr. Kaplan’s part, it took some deliberation to engage Mr. Kollie, locate the victim and put the victim in the place where he was ultimately struck by Mr. Kollie,” he said.

Defence lawyers argued for a fine and a term of probation for O’Brien and a suspended sentence for Kaplan.

Crown argued O’Brien should be sentenced to 15 to 18 months in jail and Kaplan should be sentenced to 18 to 24 months in jail.

Betton sentenced Kaplan to eight months in jail for aggravated assault and O’Brien to one year probation for the assault charge along with a $3,000 fine.