Stole a phone and beat an elderly man who died of his wounds — and will be sentenced to only 30 months in prison
The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Teklum Tsegai to 30 months in prison for robbery and negligent homicide after he punched a 71-year-old man at a bus stop, stole his cellphone, and the victim collapsed and died minutes later at his home. The judge cited the severity of the attack in a public space but mitigated the sentence due to a reconciliation process within the Eritrean community, in which $60,000 was paid to the victim's family.
The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Teklum Tsegai to 30 months in prison after he was convicted in a plea deal of robbery and negligent homicide. The incident occurred just over a year ago at a bus stop on Etzel Street in Tel Aviv. Tsegai suspected the elderly man was photographing him, approached him, punched him in the face, broke his nose, and stole his cellphone. The victim, a 71-year-old man, arrived at his apartment, changed his blood-stained clothes, collapsed, and died minutes later. A pathological report revealed that the victim suffered from 85% narrowing of his arteries, leading to the charge being reduced from intentional homicide to negligent homicide. The prosecution sought five years in prison, while the defense requested 20 months. Judge Shmuel Melamed ruled that society loses its moral foundation when a person is not safe from attack in the public sphere, and adopted the description of the cellphone as a "life box." However, the judge gave dramatic weight to a reconciliation process within the Eritrean community, in which Tsegai and his family paid $60,000 to the victim's family as "consolation money." The judge defined this compensation as a central consideration indicating deep and sincere remorse. Additionally, the court considered Tsegai's acceptance of responsibility, lack of criminal record in the past decade, and his status as a father of two children.