Man who brutally beat Moncton bartender sentenced to 14 months in jail

A 22-year-old man was sentenced to almost 14 months in jail Tuesday for brutally beating a Moncton bartender last year over being denied entry to a bar.

Abdallah Abu Zeid pleaded guilty to committing an aggravated assault against Jacques Vautour in Moncton on Nov. 8, 2020.

"It's clear by the victim impact statement and photograph that this was a severe beating," Provincial court Judge Paul Duffie said in issuing his sentence.

Crown prosecutor Marie-Andrée Mallet and defence lawyer Christian Libotte said they had jointly agreed on a sentence of less than two years.

With credit for time served, Zeid is expected to spend 13 months and 27 days in provincial jail. He'll also spend 12 months on unsupervised probation after release, with a condition to have no contact with Vautour.

Duffie accepted the joint recommendation, calling it reasonable given all of the circumstances.

Vautour, speaking to reporters after Zeid was sentenced, said he's happy there is a sentence, but doesn't think it's long enough.

"The guy literally almost tried to kill me, and he only gets two years," Vautour said.

He thanked Crown prosecutors for their work on the case.

The judge did not agree to impose restitution because of the sentence being served and his financial capacity. The Crown had requested the judge order he pay restitution of $9,589.

"I want to say I'm so sorry," Zeid told the judge. "What happened will never happen again in all my life."

Left with broken bones, teeth

Zeid had pleaded guilty in April. At the time, Crown prosecutor Martine Cormier read an agreed statement of facts.

Cormier said that around 3:30 a.m., Vautour was walking home from his shift at Navigators Pub. He was on Foundry, on the west side of the Atlantic Lotto building, when a blue Honda Civic pulled up.

Zeid stepped out and started hitting Vautour. After the attack, Zeid got back in the vehicle and left the area.

The Crown said there was surveillance video that showed the car stopping and blood was found on the front passenger door of the Honda.

Vautour was so badly beaten, the person who found him didn't recognize Vautour as someone he knew. Vautour had a broken cheek bone, broken nose, broken front teeth and had to stay in hospital for a week.

Libotte said Zeid was born in Syria and fled with family members to Jordan during Syria's civil war. He moved to Russia when he was 13, then came to Canada three years ago as a refugee.

"What I'm saying at the moment is not an excuse, it's just to give you a picture of him," Libotte said.

Libotte said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has "already contacted him to discuss the next step."

Libotte told reporters outside court that there's a process when someone is found guilty or pleads guilty. He said he can't comment on what the result may be.