Man who killed Vancouver building manager receives 5.5-year sentence

A Vancouver man convicted of manslaughter in the 2017 death of a local property manager has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison.

With credit for pretrial custody, Gerald Eldon Smith will serve about three and a half years for the death of 61-year-old Paul Belozer.

Belozer was the manager of a building from which Smith had been evicted. He had been tasked with asking Smith to leave on previous occasions when Smith was found sleeping in the hallways.

According to a B.C. Supreme Court ruling, Smith had been visiting friends in the building on the night of April 1, 2017 and fell asleep in a chair on the main floor.

When Belozer found him just before 11 p.m. and asked him to leave, he refused, prompting Belozer to call 911. When he told Smith the police had been called, Smith became angry.

“Mr. Belozer began to go downstairs to his suite. Mr. Smith followed him and hit him on the back of the head with an unknown object. Mr. Belozer fell to the ground, hitting his head on something as he fell,” reads the B.C. Supreme Court ruling.

Smith kicked Belozer in the ribcage multiple times. When he lost consciousness, Smith stole Belozer’s phone and left him in the basement.

Court documents show Smith was aware he may have fatally injured Belozer, but didn’t call for help.

“Mr. Smith called his girlfriend using Mr. Belozer’s cell phone. He told her he had ‘almost kicked the living s— out of him … to the point where he wasn’t sure’ if Mr. Belozer might possibly have been dead,” reads the judgment.

“Mr. Smith also said he had to kick Mr. Belozer to see if he was breathing. He referred to Mr. Belozer being elderly and having health problems.”

B.C. Supreme Court documents state Belozer was five feet six inches tall, weighed approximately 119 pounds and had serious medical conditions and breathing problems, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Belozer had to call 911 himself once he regained consciousness at 12:52 a.m, according to the court documents. He was taken to St. Paul’s Hospital but was quickly transferred to Vancouver General Hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

Smith went to sleep in an upstairs bathroom, which is where a police officer found him the next morning — with Belozer’s stolen cellphone in his backpack, along with a sock with a rock inside. He also had Belozer’s blood on his hands and clothing.

Court documents show Belozer lived for seven days after the attack. He had severe injuries, including rib fractures, a partially collapsed lung and blunt cardiac injury.

On April 9, his family decided to transfer him to palliative care.

“He died within hours,” reads the court decision.

“The cause of death was determined to be a consequence of respiratory failure due to severe blunt-force chest injuries.”

A doctor assessed Smith to be at a low to moderate risk to reoffend.

The judge said there was no question that Smith must be imprisoned.

“Mr. Smith inflicted a merciless and brutal beating on an individual he knew had medical issues. This was not a near accident,” the judge wrote.

“The assault began as a surprise attack from behind. Mr. Belozer had no time to defend himself. He fell to the ground and was viciously kicked. Mr. Smith then stole his phone, depriving him of the ability to easily summon help.”

The court heard that Belozer’s death was a huge blow to his elderly parents, with whom he was very close. His mother testified that after Belozer’s death, her husband would suddenly awaken and say: “Paul is being attacked.”