MANDEL: Reformed criminal avoids jail for fleeing deadly accident

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Sebastian Sapeta – Hells Angel, convicted smash-and-grab robber, drug trafficker – was finally turning his life around.

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Since his conviction on four counts of break-and-enter for crimes he’d committed in 2013, there were no more entries on Sapeta’s criminal record: He’d worked in construction for almost a decade and worked his way up to being a licensed heavy equipment operator. He still struggled with substance abuse but he’d done counseling and cut ties with his criminal buddies.

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And then came Aug. 26, 2021, at around 3:30 in the morning.

Sapeta had just exited the Gardiner Expressway at the York-Bay ramp in his 2021 Jeep and was heading east on Harbor St. through the green light at York St. when he says to a pedestrian “came out of nowhere.”

Venugnan Raveentrin, 29, was crossing from south to north against the light about four meters west of the pedestrian walkway when he was struck. He died of blunt force trauma at the scene.

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At this point, it was a tragic accident – ​​one later confirmed by surveillance cameras in the area. But what Sapeta did next was a crime. Instead of stopping, he drove on and abandoned his severely damaged Jeep a couple of clocks away on Richardson St.

If he had a getaway plan, it wasn’t a very good one. Police traced the Jeep’s license plate to his condo where he was arrested at 5:30 am – he’d changed his clothes, except for the same high top sneakers, and had a bag of personal belongings, $4,500 cash, two cellphones, identification, oxycontin and clozapine, baggies and a safe, passports, and a key to a BMW.

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He was both “distraught and impaired,” said Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts in recapping the agreed statement of facts this week.

“There is no excuse leaving that guy,” Sapeta was quoted saying at the time. “The accident is something I’ve never experienced in my entire life”

He explained that he’d taken a cab home and “did drugs to deal with the shock of the collision.” His urine tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone.

Sapeta, 49, pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident causing death in September 2023.

In court this week, he repeated his “deep remorse and shame for leaving the scene.” As he told the writer of his pre-sentence report, he was “so sorry for leaving. “I don’t know what I was thinking, and that made me look guilty on many counts.”

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The judge noted the seriousness of his crime.

“An innocent victim was killed. His family was devastated,” she said. “While the collision was an accident, and there is no suggestion death could have been prevented by earlier treatment, Mr. Sapeta’s failure to stop adds to the pain felt by the family. As the Crown noted, not only was an innocent victim killed, but he had to die alone.”

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However, Roberts rejected the Crown’s request for a year of jail time.

She found it was an unavoidable accident involving a jaywalker crossing in the dark and there was no evidence the driver was speeding or impaired before the collision. By fleeing, “Mr. “Sapeta panicked and made a mistake.”

She acknowledged his serious criminal record but found it unrelated to the hit-and-run.

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“Up until the current offense he appeared to have turned his life around,” Roberts said. “Mr. “Sapeta has taken remarkable strides toward adopting a pro-social lifestyle.”

The judge also found Sapeta’s many expressions of genuine remorse – from soon after his arrest to his guilty plea to a statement read in court – showing his insight into why what he did was so wrong.

“I accept his evidence that he is tormented by the offense and deeply ashamed by his behavior,” she said.

So the judge sentenced Sapeta to a conditional sentence of two years less a day – under GPS monitoring, the first year is under house arrest except to attend work and the second will include a curfew between 11 pm and 5 am

The reformed criminal knew how lucky he was to avoid a return to jail after all this time.

“Your Honor, there’s no words to express my gratitude and how very grateful and grateful I am for your discretion,” Sapeta said. “Really from the bottom of my heart, absolutely thank you. Thank you.”

And with that, the compassionate judge wished him good luck.

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