Former Odyssey bouncer going to jail

A former Vancouver gay nightclub bouncer has been sentenced to five years in prison for the killing of a childhood friend at a tony West Vancouver country club.

Sasan Ansari heaved a deep sigh as BC Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan passed sentence Dec 5 after a jury found Ansari guilty of manslaughter in the May 23, 2006 of Josh Goos in the parking lot of the Hollyburn Country Club.

“Mr Goos died as a result of multiple stab wounds inflicted by Mr Ansari,” McEwan ruled.

“Mr Ansari is acutely aware of the harm he has done,” he later added.

Crown counsel Greg Weber had asked for 12 years, while the defense had suggested four years as an appropriate sentence.

Ansari’s lawyers argued a defense of automatism, a dissociative state which is a recognized psychiatric condition resulting in amnesia.

The 29-year-old law student claimed he was provoked by Goos, 27, but had no memory of the incident in which the victim was repeatedly stabbed in a vehicle.

The frenzied attack was partially caught on security tapes.

McEwan says Goos then fled the vehicle pursued by Ansari who later dragged the body away.

Goos had been stabbed 30 times, several of the injuries potentially fatal.

The judge said security cameras showed a trail of blood.

Goos’ sister, Cezanne Goos, said her family has been through hell with the police and courts.

“Every single night… I visualize my brother sitting in his vehicle wearing his seatbelt being stabbed 33 times,” she says. “He died alone.”

The jury heard that Goos had loaned $90,000 to his high-school friend and had been demanding repayment of a significantly higher amount.
McEwan said the details of the business dealing between the two were not clear.

He did say, though, that Goos had told Ansari he was bringing someone else to the country club meeting.

McEwan described that as a threat.

“There is much more to Mr Goos than the evidence [shows],” McEwan said.
Goos’ body was found about 5:30 the next morning.

Defence lawyer Peter Wilson said the evidence also pointed to Goos as being the aggressor in the confrontation.

Ansari had testified that Goos pulled a knife and threatened to harm Ansari’s boyfriend and family members.

At trial, Ansari admitted he inflicted the fatal wounds but claimed he had no memory of the attack.

Ansari would be eligible for statutory release after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Ansari had been on bail as he awaited trial. He completed two years of law school during that time.

He was taken into custody when convicted by the jury in November.