DETROIT – A Detroit man was sentenced Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court to six-to-12 years in prison – more than the suggested guidelines – for shooting a Windsor man as he left Gigi's Nightclub.
Steven Williams Jr., 18, was found guilty last month of assualt with intent to do great bodily harm and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony after he shot Salvagio Vonatti, 31, in the head on Jan. 10, leaving the victim in a coma and on life support.
"In this particular case we know that the defendant's immediate motivation to assault the victim was his sexual orientation, when he pulled out the gun and announced that he was going to shoot (the victim) for being gay," said Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Suzette Samuels. "He basically had his life taken away. The guidelines are just not sufficient."
Samuels asked Judge David Allen to breach out of the guidelines presented, which would have sentenced Williams to less than five years, according to Jeff Montgomery, executive director of Triangle Foundation.
"Even if he comes out of a coma, he's always going to need care from his family. The guidelines don't take that in consideration," Samuels said.
"We miss our brother," said Vonatti's sister Jenane Abouzeki.
Abouzeki sobbed and said William's crime has hurt each of their 35 family members.
"He will never have his life back," Abouzeki said. "He should be locked behind bars for life. This society will never miss a criminal, but they will miss my brother."
Despite a guilty verdict, Williams pleaded his innocence in front of the courtroom. "I know I had a bad past, but that's when I was a kid," Williams said.
"You have a defendant here who has an escalating history of violence," Samuels said, referencing his assault of fellow classmates and a previous gun incident in 2003. "This is a dangerous person. … I hope he proves me wrong but one day he's going to get out and we're going to see him back."
Before sentencing, the judge apologized to Vonatti's family for not imposing a lengthier prison term.
"Mr.Vonatti puts on his pants the same way you do every morning," Allen said to Williams. "Like you, he is a son, brother, uncle, friend and lover. Who and how he loved was none of your business. Sexuality is no different than the color of your eyes or your hair. … After all, would anyone in their right mind choose to be homosexual with predators like you shooting them in the head?"
Montgomery said he was grateful for Allen's stricter sentence. "Many other judges wouldn't have been brave enough to go outside of the guidelines," he said. "It was significant and courageous on his part."
Man sentenced in shooting outside Gigi's
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