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Erik Kravchuk Sentenced In Head-Butt Death Of Medtronic Scientist Aleksandre Sambelashvili

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Golden Valley man will spend nearly a decade in prison for fatally head-butting a Medtronic scientist at a downtown Minneapolis bar in 2019.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office says Erik Kravchuk, 30, was found guilty in September of unintentional second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for the death of 42-year-old Aleksandre Sambelashvili. He was sentenced to just more than eight years, which is about four years less than the recommended sentencing guidelines.

Aleksandre Sambelashvili
Aleksandre Sambelashvili (credit: CBS)

Their deadly encounter happened on the early morning of July 28, 2019, during a private gathering. Surveillance footage from the bar shows Kravchuk suddenly attacking Sambelashvili, who then falls to the floor, hits his head and is knocked out.

Sambelashvili, a father of two from Minnetonka, died about a month later from a brain injury.

Medtronic officials said in a statement in 2019 that "many patients with cardiac problems have been restored to better health and lived longer lives" due to Sambelashvili's work with the company.

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