The District Court sentenced today (Thursday) Liad Edri, who was convicted as part of a plea agreement for charges of aggravated assault, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering, to five and a half years of actual imprisonment. The defendant was also given suspended sentences and required to pay the victim's family compensation of 50,000 NIS.
Initially, the indictment against the defendant included the charge of murdering Yoel Lehnigel, who was killed in 2022 during a brawl over a minor argument. After the evidentiary hearings began and a mediation process was carried out, during which the victim's parents' views were also considered, the parties announced that they had reached a plea agreement due to evidentiary difficulties.
As part of the agreement, the manslaughter charge was dropped, and the defendant admitted to committing assault and other offenses. According to the amended indictment, the defendant is not charged with the stabbing that led to the victim's death. The amended indictment states that the defendant's act of violence did not cause the victim's death.
The court emphasized the severity of the defendant's actions, noting that, due to an event unrelated to him, he arrived at the scene where Yoel and his friends were located, followed by a group of boys equipped with weapons. The defendant aggressively and provocatively approached Yoel and his friends. Subsequently, after being attacked with a punch to the head by one of the defendant's associates, the defendant, along with others, brutally attacked Yoel to cause serious injury and even kicked him hard after he was stabbed in the abdomen by someone else, causing the victim to collapse on the ground.
Arrived at the Scene to "Enforce Order"
The court noted that the encounter between the defendant and Yoel was not "accidental" but rather a planned event, in which the defendant chose of his own accord to arrive at the scene where Yoel and his friends were, intending to confront them and out of a distorted desire to "enforce order."
The court further determined that the defendant was the dominant figure in the incident. He led the group and walked towards the victim and his friends, followed by a group of boys who had previously been gathered in another area and had not interacted with the victim and his friends. The defendant arrived at the scene intending to have a violent confrontation with the victim and his friends, "seeking contact" and approaching them in a provocative and aggressive manner.
Therefore, while the defendant was not the first to commit a physical violent act during the incident, his role and responsibility for the events leading to the brawl in which the victim's life was cut short are significant, despite not being directly responsible for the fatal stabbing.
5.5 Years Imprisonment and 50,000 NIS Compensation
On the other hand, without diminishing the severity of the defendant's actions, the court considered the fact that the defendant was not the first to act violently in the event and was also attacked himself. It also took into account that the actions attributed to the defendant in the amended indictment are not the most severe in terms of aggravated assault, as there was no claim that he used any weapon, and his actions were limited to assaulting the victim together with others and later delivering a strong kick.
In sentencing the defendant, the court took into account his personal circumstances, age, clean criminal record, the long period of detention, and his admission in the amended indictment. Conversely, the court considered the need for individual and general deterrence, the probation service's impressions, and the assessment that there is a high risk of reoccurrence of violent behavior by the defendant. Taking all these factors into consideration, the court sentenced the defendant to five and a half years of actual imprisonment, compensation to the victim's family of 50,000 NIS, and suspended sentences.