Man convicted of manslaughter in beating death of city restaurateur

A judge convicted a Winnipeg man of manslaughter after rejecting his claim that he was acting in self-defence when he beat a city restaurateur to death two years ago.

Fifty-one-year-old Kyriakos Vogiatzakis died on Jan. 24, 2024, following a violent confrontation outside the Cork & Flame at 3106 Portage Ave. His killer, 40-year-old Curtis Dalebozik, will be sentenced at a later date following the completion of a court-ordered pre-sentence report.

A fight between the two men that lasted several minutes was captured on security video.

While Vogiatzakis threw the first punch, Dalebozik responded with lethal force when Vogiatzakis was incapacitated and no longer posed a threat to him, Court of King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond said in a ruling delivered Thursday.

“Although the entire physical altercation was over in four minutes, Mr. Dalebozik had the upper hand for the last half of that time,” Bond said, adding he violently kicked and punched Vogiatzakis “when he was no longer offering any resistance or response.”

“I find that these actions were beyond what was necessary to address any remaining threat of ongoing violence from Mr. Vogiatzakis,” Bond said.

A forensic pathologist had testified that Vogiatzakis died as the result of multiple blunt force trauma, asphyxia and the “physiological stress of the altercation.”

At the time, Dalebozik lived at a motel immediately west of the Cork & Flame.

Security video played for court showed him outside the restaurant’s west-side entrance shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2024, when Vogiatzakis pulled into the parking lot beside him, got out of his vehicle and confronted Dalebozik.

The video, which has no audio, shows Vogiatzakis pointing at Dalebozik and then toward Portage, at which point Dalebozik is seen jogging toward a mobile sign by the roadside. Almost immediately, Dalebozik runs back toward Vogiatzakis, who punches or shoves Dalebozik in the chest.

The men grappled with each other, making their way to the roadway, where Dalebozik punched Vogiatzakis in the head. Vogiatzakis delivered several uppercut punches to Dalebozik’s head and midsection before Dalebozik dragged him to the ground.

The video showed Dalebozik delivering several knee strikes to Vogiatzakis’s midsection before compressing his chest and putting him in a headlock for up to 90 seconds.

Vogiatzakis was no longer moving when Dalebozik got to his feet and kicked him in the head and body four times.

Bond convicted Dalebozik of an additional count of uttering a threat to a restaurant employee who came to Vogiatzakis’s aid.

Shanise Powell testified she was tending bar when a customer walked into the restaurant and told staff about a fight in the parking lot.

Powell said she recognized Dalebozik, who was standing over an uresponsive Vogiatzakis, as someone staff had nicknamed Jesus due to his long hair and beard, and who on a number of occasions had been seen “loitering” around the restaurant entrance, asking customers for change or looking for cigarette butts.

“I walked up to him and said, ‘What’s going on? What happened?’” Powell said. “He said, ‘He pulled my f—king hair, so I laid him down.’”

When Powell told the man he could have just killed someone, he said: “Shut the f—k up, I know where you work and I’ll lay you down, too,” before running away.

“I am satisfied that Mr. Dalebozik meant to intimidate Ms. Powell and meant his threat to be taken seriously by her,” Bond said.

Court did not hear what sentence the Crown will be seeking. Sentences for manslaughter can range from no custody to life in prison.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca