A judge has sentenced a 24-year-old man to 11 years in prison for killing one person and injuring six others at a Halloween 2019 party in Toronto.
Jacob Alves was convicted by a jury in 2023 of manslaughter in the death of Firdaus Nabijada and six counts of assault.
Nabizada was among the victims injured during a fight at a “rowdy” party at a fraternity house in the Annex, Toronto police said at the time.
Nabizada was rushed to hospital in critical condition but died a few days later.
During Alves' trial, the court heard that a fight broke out after Alves, then 19, was refused entry to the party and asked to leave.
At trial, Alves said he started carrying the knife for protection after a boy cut him in the neck during a robbery.
Alves testified that he was so intoxicated that he had no recollection of stabbing Nabizada or injuring the six others.
The judge said the man was the aggressor in the fight
But in sentencing Alves on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Kelly Byrne said Alves chose to arm himself with a knife before drinking and going to a party – intending to use it if necessary.
Byrne said the facts of the case show Alves was the aggressor and had only one weapon during the fight.
But the judge also noted that Alves has shown remorse for his actions, and that the court has received 14 letters of support that he is a good-hearted person and that his actions that night were completely out of character.
Although Alves was on trial for second-degree murder, a jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of murder.
Alves has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for murder and six for assault.
Byrne credited him with seven years and nine months for the time he has already spent in harsh conditions, meaning Alves has three years and three months left to serve in prison.
