THUNDER BAY - The man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2016 stabbing death of 18-year-old Brent Donio will spend the next six years in custody and his lawyer hopes the duration of the sentence will allow him an opportunity to seek rehabilitation.
In a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Thursday, 28-year-old Clinton Netemegesic was sentenced to 10 years, which after factoring in pre-sentence custody leaves six years and 185 days in prison, after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing Donio during an altercation outside a Windsor Street housing complex on July 13, 2016.
Cecil Matinet, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for his role in the incident, was also sentenced on Thursday. With pre-sentence custody of two years and 56 days credited by Justice Chantal Brochu, Matinet was sentenced to one day less time served and three years’ probation.
Defense attorney, Gil Labine, who was representing Netemegesic, along with David Bruzzese, who was representing Matinet, presented a joint sentencing submission with Crown prosecutor, Gordon Fillmore earlier this month, which requested a 10-year sentence for Netemegesic.
Justice Brochu said the submissions represented a fair and reasonable sentence in this case. Netemegesic was credited with three years and 80 days for pre-sentence custody.
“One of the benefits of this sentence is it is a short duration and certainly shorter than what he would have gotten if he was convicted of second-degree murder,” Labine said following the sentence. “He has an opportunity in the next three-and-a-half years or so of being released on parole and being rehabilitated.”
Matinet was involved in an altercation with Donio on the night of July 13, 2016. Following a fight, Matinet returned to Donio’s residence with Netemegesic who stabbed Donio during a second altercation. It was determined that alcohol was a factor.
“It’s not something that was planned or intended, it just happened as a result of excessive amount of alcohol,” Labine said.
According to Justice Brochu, there were several mitigating factors she took into consideration when determining Netemegesic’s sentence. A pre-sentence report and a Gladue Report were ordered, which Brochu said revealed evidence of Netemegesic being exposed to violence, drugs, and alcohol in the home at a very young age.
She also cited comments made by Netemegesic to the Gladue Report writer during which he expressed deep remorse for his actions and the impact it has had on the Donio family and his family.
“Those passages speak volumes to the insight Mr. Netemegesic has expressed on this issue,” Brochu said.
“This young man is an intelligent young man,” Labine said. “He has a significant number of Gladue factors that have resulted in him being in the position he is in. This will help him.”
A victim impact statement was shared during the sentencing submissions hearing by Donio’s grandfather. Brochu said a sentence for the crime of manslaughter, which can carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, must demonstrate a sense of deterrence, but added that “no sentence can lessen the anguish or grief felt by the family.”
Brochu also cited several mitigating factors for Matinet’s sentence, who also experienced early exposure to alcohol and substance abuse in the home. Other factors, according to Brochu, included his youth, his own expressions of remorse, and the fact that “he did not have a weapon and did not deliver the fatal blow.”
The terms of Matinet’s probation include keeping the peace, not having contact with several members of Donio’s family or Netemegesic, participate in counselling and rehabilitation programs as determined by his probation officer, not possess or consume and alcohol or drugs, submit a DNA sample, is prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years, and must complete 50 hours of community service.
Netemegesic is also to provide a DNA sample and is prohibited from possessing any weapons for life. He will be eligible for parole in three years and three months.
