Last March, former UB student Michael W. Bliss was assaulted after watching a Buffalo Sabres game at a bar on Main Street. On Wednesday, one of his attackers was sent to prison for leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
In State Supreme Court, Justice Russell P. Buscaglia sentenced Kevin F. Rowland, now 24, to eight years in state prison for the beating and stomping that will leave Bliss confined to a wheelchair for life.
Rowland, a UB alumnus, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in October and agreed to testify against Charles P. Jordan, 23, who was also involved in the beating. Last month, Jordan pleaded guilty to a reduced assault charge on the second day of his trial and is currently serving a year in jail although he will not be sentenced until May 11, according to the Buffalo News.
"I was drunk and foolish. I'm neither a fighter nor a violent man," Rowland told the judge in a handwritten statement.
Bliss, 22, was in court on Wednesday, and according to the Buffalo News report, read a two-page statement in which he said he and his family are in the process of forgiving Rowland.
"I have always been a forgiving person, especially when someone owns up to their actions and is truly remorseful," Bliss said.
Buscaglia cited Rowland's inability to complete court-ordered counseling for a prior drunk-driving arrest in his decision, saying that Rowland "didn't take it seriously."
"There were warning signs that something like this would happen because of your prior history of alcohol problems," Buscaglia said.
On the morning of March 28, 2008, Rowland, Jordan and Michael Gunderman, 24, were arrested outside of The Steer Restaurant and Saloon on Main Street after they allegedly punched, kicked and knocked Bliss to the ground, according Michael DeGeorge, spokesman for the Buffalo Police Department. The three were roommates at the time.
The Erie County grand jury has since cleared Gunderman, a UB alumnus, of criminal responsibility.
Rowland contended on Wednesday that he did not start the fight and that he had been punched unexpectedly prior to the attack. Rowland, however, appeared in felony court a week after the arrest with a cast around what appeared to be a broken left hand, according to a previous article published in The Spectrum.
"We all know the problems [associated] with binge drinking," Buscaglia said. "And I hope that for everyone who reads about this, it sends up a red flag."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
