Judge accepts cabbie’s death not intentional

The head of the London Taxi Association is calling the fouryear sentence handed to a man who killed a cab driver last year “disgusting.”

Cody Perkin, 24, pleaded guilty on Friday to manslaughter in the death of 64-year-old Vijay Bhatia. Perkin initially was charged with second-degree murder — a charge that carries an automatic 25-year sentence — in the April 29, 2017, death.

Ontario Court Justice George Orsini accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence to impose a four-year sentence. But with credit for time already served, Perkin will only spend another two years behind bars.

“I think it’s disgusting. He should do some serious time for what he did. He killed a man,” said Jason Kukurudziak, president of the association that represents taxi owners and brokers.

“The value of his (Bhatia’s) life is vastly undervalued ... that’s what it shows,” he said of the four-year sentence.

Perkin and his girlfriend, Desiree Armstrong-Stephens, were passengers in Bhatia’s cab when there was a dispute over the fare during a stop at Mac’s convenience at 925 Wonderland Rd. S. Perkin assaulted Bhatia, but a coroner’s report revealed it was a heart attack that killed him.

“Cody assaulted him. That was an intentional act. But the assault itself didn’t result in any kind of injury that would result in the cab driver’s death,” defence lawyer James Zegers said outside the courthouse.

Perkin, who apologized to Bhatia’s family prior to his sentencing, fully accepts responsibility for his actions, Zegers said.

“He’s very sorry about what happened and he’s trying to change his life,” Zegers said.

Perkin, who underwent openheart surgery in May while in custody, will be eligible for parole in one year.

In his ruling, Ontario Court Justice George Orsini said no amount of time will match the grief Bhatia’s family has suffered, a message Zeger echoed.

“You can’t measure a person’s life in terms of a jail sentence,” he said.

“This is a really severe penalty for what Cody did. It’s four years in jail. In my view, that reflects the seriousness of the offence. “He didn’t intentionally kill Mr. Bhatia.”

Perkin also pleaded guilty to assaulting Armstrong- Stephens, the mother of his child. Originally from Clinton, Perkins attended Clarke Road secondary school. He has convictions for assault, uttering a death threat, probation violations and breaches of court orders.

Bhatia, a father of four and grandfather, was a cab driver for more than two decades. Kukurudziak remembers racing to the scene after a dispatcher alerted him to the incident. “I passed the ambulance on the way down,” he said.

“I’ve had nightmares since this happened. I still have them.”