Man Gets Prison For Throwing Fatal Punch At St. Clair Shores Bar

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — A Fraser man has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for a 2019 manslaughter case in which he reportedly sucker-punched and killed a man in a St. Clair Shores bar.

Hatum Akrawi was sentenced Friday to 8 to 15 years in prison for one count of manslaughter, Macomb County court records show. Akrawi is also required to pay $15,617 in court costs and restitution, according to court records.

Akrawi was initially charged with second-degree murder after punching and killing Shawn Kubic, but those charges were later amended to manslaughter, Fox 2 reported.

Kubic, 47, died days after being punched at Kapones Sports Tavern in December 2019, according to the Macomb Daily.

Akrawi pleaded guilty in December to manslaughter and was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11 before the hearing was postponed to Friday, according to court files.

Video of the punch was released by police shortly after the incident and appears to show a man identified by police as Akrawi hitting Kubic while his head was turned away and while he was talking to someone.

A second person charged in the case — 40-year-old Johnny Rittenberry of Warren — was charged with assault and battery after throwing a drink on Kubic after the punch, the Macomb Daily reported.