‘You’ll pay for what you have done’: victim’s mom to killer

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This article was published 22/05/2015 (3258 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lavana Gentry stared her son’s killer straight in the eyes Friday, telling him he faces a much greater punishment than any court can dish out.

“You caused us great suffering and sorrow. Every day I feel the loss of my precious son,” the elderly woman told Gerald Mustard. “You’ll pay for what you have done. When you get to the other side, you’ll have to answer for it.”

The Crown is seeking an eight-year prison sentence for Mustard, whom jurors recently found responsible for the 2012 stabbing death of Anthony Sorokowski inside the victim’s Transcona home.

Mustard, 43, was convicted earlier this month of manslaughter. Jurors cleared him of a more serious charge of second-degree murder, but also rejected his bid to walk free based on a claim of self-defence. He returned to court Friday for sentencing.

Family members of the 50-year-old victim presented emotional impact statements describing their loss. Michael James said his uncle was a kind, compassionate man whose death has left a major void in their family.

“Mr. Mustard lives on. He will have sunrises and sunsets. Tony’s are gone,” said James.

Mustard is asking for between three and four years behind bars. Queen’s Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg will give her decision on June 2.

“I’m sorry for your pain and your loss,” Mustard said Friday when asked if he had any comments to make.

Jurors heard at trial how Sorokowski just wanted to sleep, but his attempts to evict Mustard from his home ended in his death. Sorokowski was slashed in the throat with a knife, suffering extensive blood loss from which he could not recover.

Only one other person was present during the incident. Karla Peterson testified how she was a friend of Sorokowski’s who had spent the evening drinking and doing cocaine with him. She then called Mustard, another friend of hers, to pick her up to get more beer because Sorokowski was too drunk to drive. Mustard obliged, then returned to Sorokowski’s home in the 300 block of Regent Avenue.

It was the first time the two men ever met. Sorokowski decided he’d had enough socializing and asked Mustard to leave.

“He said ‘I’m going to bed soon, I’m getting tired, I want you to leave,’ ” Peterson told jurors. Sorokowski went to the bathroom and got “angry and frustrated” when he emerged to find Mustard still in his suite, she said.

The two men came together and a fist fight seemed inevitable. But that’s when Mustard apparently pulled out a folding knife and struck Sorokowski in the throat, severing his jugular.

“He clearly made his wishes known. He was the homeowner, he was entitled to do that,” Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft said Friday. He called Mustard’s reaction “unnecessary and over the top.”

Mustard expressed immediate remorse and even tried to save Sorokowski’s life.

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