Mike on Crime

By Karen Kleiss
Canwest News Service
EDMONTON — The teenage gangster who killed Evan Grykuliak at his 17th birthday party has appealed his sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for seven years.
In a notice of appeal filed Sept. 2, Dexter Ian Estacio, 18, claims the youth court judge who convicted him of second-degree murder made a mistake when he ordered the teen be sentenced as an adult. Estacio also says the judge erred by refusing to let him to serve his sentence in a youth facility until he turns 20.
On Friday, the former Crazy Dragons drug dealer sought and won a 30-day reprieve from incarceration in an adult penitentiary, where his gang affiliations may put him at increased risk of assault. He will be held in Edmonton’s Remand Centre until his next court appearance on Oct. 10.
Earlier this month, Youth Court Judge James Koshman handed Estacio an adult life sentence without the possibility of parole for seven years, calling the murder “senseless, horrifying and self-serving.”
Grykuliak was hosting his 17th birthday party on Nov. 19, 2006, at the La Perle Community Hall in Edmonton, when Estacio arrived with a group of friends.
At around 1:15 a.m. local time, the group was outside the hall when Grykuliak approached them. An argument ensued and the two men got into a brawl.
Estacio stabbed Grykuliak six times. At one point, the killer’s friend held Grykuliak’s arms while Estacio attacked. Grykuliak died that night.
Court later heard Estacio committed the crime in an attempt to boost his reputation as a feared member of the gang. He was arrested six days later.