ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — A man has been sentenced after a fight in a Baldwin Borough bar led to the death of another man.
Zachary Blake, 23, was sentenced to just under two years of jail time for the beating death of Mark Thompson, 51.
>> Friends remember man that died after fight at bar in Baldwin as a “gentle soul”
A judge Tuesday ruled that Thompson died of cardiac arrest and not from the blows. Thompson’s family called this sentencing an insult.
“He did die from those blows,” Melissa Wittler, Thompson’s sister, said.
On July 21, 2021, Thompson was trying to break up a fight outside of the Loose Moose Saloon in Baldwin when Blake began punching him from behind, delivering blow after blow until he fell to the ground. Thompson died four days later.
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Blake to just under two years in jail for involuntary manslaughter after an autopsy revealed Thompson died of cardiac arrest.
“Zachary Blake got away with murder,” Wittler said.
Thompson’s family leaving the courtroom was visibly upset and told Channel 11 News they felt the judge’s decision was insulting.
“To say that he was going to die anyway that’s not true,” Wittler said.
Blake’s defense attorney calls it a tragic situation but says the ruling was fair.
“The defense team received a second opinion Mr. Thompson did die as a result of cardiac arrest. However, the entire situation is unfortunate and tragic,” said Casey White, defense attorney for Blake.
Thompson was a regular at that bar, and workers told us in 2021 that he was a gentle soul trying to help out. He leaves behind three kids.
“Just tell your loved ones, because you don’t know, they can be in a great area at a local bar/restaurant that you visit weekly and they don’t come home one night,” Abigail Brueggman, Thompson’s daughter-in-law, said.
There is still an ongoing civil case against Blake and the Loose Moose Saloon.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
TRENDING NOW:
©2024 Cox Media Group
