MANSLAUGHTER IN DOPER DEATH

Student Cleared Of Murder, But Guilty Of Lesser Charge

NEWMARKET -- A York U student and petty drug dealer who chased and
then drove over and dragged a bandit 31 metres to his death was
acquitted of second-degree murder and found guilty of manslaughter yesterday.

An emotional Shawn Plafker hugged his lawyer Darren Sederoff after a
jury returned its verdict in the Oct. 27, 2005, death of Sumit
Kapoor. Kapoor, 22, and his friends Adrian Brown and Robert Sirju
tried to steal the marijuana that Plafker planned to sell to them.

"It was a fair charge and a fair verdict. Justice has occurred,"
Sederoff said in an interview. "There is no mandatory minimum
sentence for manslaughter. Sentences can range from time served to
life imprisonment." Plafker, who has been in custody approximately
18 months, will be sentenced March 18.

Kapoor "was already on the ground when Plafker's car struck him" and
there were "no impact marks on the front of the vehicle," Sederoff said.

UNDER ATTACK

Sederoff told the jury that the killing wasn't intentional "but a
tragic accident" and his client should be acquitted.

Kapoor's death, he said, resulted as a "panicked" Plafker drove to
escape the situation where he was under attack by an armed
assailant, Sirju, who shattered his rear window with a metal pole.
Plafker's car collided with Kapoor, who was grabbing on to the car
and was caught by his jacket underneath.

Crown attorneys Carmen Elmasry and Jennifer Gleitman alleged that
Plafker, 22, murdered Kapoor after he and his pals stole his marijuana.

Plafker meant to kill him and his actions and words backed that up,
Elmasry said.

Brown, Kapoor and Plafker met in his Ford Taurus in a Catholic
elementary school lot on New Westminister Drive.

After the drug robbery went awry, Brown and Kapoor bolted and Brown
raced to his own car and drove home, court heard. Plafker pursued
Kapoor in his Taurus.

The prosecution said Sirju threw the metal pole at Plafker's
vehicle, smashing the rear windshield, hoping to stop Plafker as he
drove with Kapoor's body being dragged underneath it.