Manslaughter trial continues for 2 men after fight at Scarborough Jack Astor's

Global News

06-05-2025

A manager who was working at the Scarborough Town Centre Jack Astor's when a customer named Frank Harbalis got into a fight with another manager, before Harbalis was taken down nearly three years ago, testified about the deadly scuffle Tuesday.
The evidence was heard at the manslaughter trial for Alexander Campbell and Tyler Josling, two customers who court has heard intervened to help subdue Harbalis. Both Campbell and Josling have pleaded not guilty.
Imzam Ali testified he was having a meeting with two other managers just before 6:30 p.m. on July 11, 2022, when a staff member came to them and said there was a gentleman who wasn't having a good experience. Ali testified a manager named Trevor Rairaijam went to speak to the customer by the door.
Less than a minute later, Ali said Rairaijam called for help over the headset that the restaurant managers were wearing. Ali said he walked forward and got in between Rairaijam and Harbalis, who was lifting a chair, before Harbalis struck him with the chair on the side of his head.
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Ali said he was concerned for his own safety and the safety of customers in the restaurant. He and two other customers came in and tried to hold Harbalis down. Ali testified that at one point, Harbalis got up, and they held him down again.
'At one point, I was asking, 'Let's get some security here. Is security coming?'' he said.
'He was kicking. I was holding his feet down. Trevor was on the other side of me. At one time, I got telephone wire to try to constrain his hands but his arms weren't available, so we did a loop around his legs.'
Ali testified that everyone was on their knees. He said he had a hand on Harbalis' lower back and another hand on his lower leg while Rairaijam held his other leg. Campbell and Jaijairam were closer to Harbalis' head.
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Ali recalled that one of the customers who was helping hold Halbalis down had Harbalis' arm restrained to his back, motioning his hand as if it was handcuffed behind him. The other person, he said, had his left arm around his upper back and neck.
Ali said Harbalis was struggling to get back up and at some point, recalled saying, 'Calm down, there's four people on top of you. Why resist?'
The manager testified that the scuffle ended when Harbalis stopped moving. 'We got off. I walked away towards the other managers. Ten seconds later, the fire department arrived,' said Ali.
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'I do recall someone saying, 'Does he have a pulse?' and someone saying 'yes,'' Ali added.
During cross-examination, Campbell's lawyer Peter Thorning asked if Ali recalled speaking to police about whether there was a choke hold. When Thorning suggested Harbalis was only placed in a choke hold for a brief period of time, Ali replied, 'somewhat yes,' and then agreed with Thorning, who suggested he never saw a choke hold at all.
Speaking about Campbell and Josling, Ali added, 'If they didn't help, I don't know where I would be right now,' explaining to Superior Court Justice Michael Dineen that he was concerned about customers being seriously injured as Harbalis swung the chair.
During re-examination, Crown attorney Andrew Pilla asked if Ali could characterize the chokehold he had earlier reported to police.
'Since then, I've learned what a chokehold is and how it's applied. Watching UFC and showing what it takes to actually stop the breathing, the positioning doesn't make sense,' Ali said, saying he now realizes he never saw a chokehold happen.
'The arm being around his neck, his shoulder, that's all I can recall,' he added.
A customer named Evan Cosgrove testified that when he arrived at Jack Astor's, he saw someone 'being barred' from the restaurant. Cosgrove said he went to sit at the bar and ordered two beers when he noticed a chair being thrown and a commotion. He said he went to see the scuffle and saw four or five people on the ground.
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'There was no attempt at de-escalation,' Cosgrove testified. 'It just seemed like there was too many people involved. It just got out of hand. It was handled poorly from the start because he was at the front of the restaurant because he got back in. I don't see how that's acceptable.'
Cosgrove testified he has worked in bars and has never physically had to remove patrons.
During cross-examination, Thorning pointed out that Cosgrove never saw Harbalis throwing punches. Cosgrove also agreed with him that he saw or heard the commotion and believed he saw a chair being thrown, but may have come to that conclusion on his own.
The final witness on Tuesday was a bartender named Alika Kavouras. She testified that she had never met Harbalis before. She said he was drinking a beer when she came on shift and served him another. Kavouras testified she became annoyed when he asked her what her name was three times, grabbed strawberries from the bar and reached over the counter and pulled her hair. She said she decided to stop serving him.
She said Harbalis had left his phone charging at the bar after paying his bill, and that's when a staff member came to pick up his phone. Kavouras testified she later saw the interaction between Harbalis, the managers and two customers from the bar. 'I saw the chair. I saw Frank on the foor and four people around him. Two managers and two other gentlemen customers who were at the bar.'
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She said the men were holding him down and he was trying to get up. 'One guy was holding him around the neck.'
'Do you remember which person?' asked Pilla. Kavouras replied, 'No. I do remember at one point, someone said 'he's out.''
During cross-examination, Thorning suggested Kavouras didn't see a choke hold and suggested that's what someone told her. 'They were holding him down. That's all I remember,' she replied. 'He was not moving.'
Thorning then showed Kavouras police body camera video which captured her interview with a police officer that day. In the video, Kavouras describes how one guy was holding Harbalis around the neck. The officer suggested it was 'an arm lock,' with which Kavouras agreed. Kavouras told Thorning, 'I just remember at some time, I saw an arm lock.'
'I was shocked. It was chaotic.'
The trial continues.