Seven years later, strip-club manager's fatal punch yields a prison sentence

Almost seven years after James Koons died from a punch to the head, a Philadelphia judge sentenced the manager of the Southwest Philadelphia strip club who threw that punch to 7-and-a-half  to 15 years in prison.

Thursday's sentencing of John Pettit, 55, of Pennsauken, followed a mournful two-hour hearing, during which Koons' family unleashed emotion bottled up from nearly a decade of waiting.

"I watched my son there, lifeless, with tubes drilled into his skull," said Koons' mother, Kathy Brady, staring at Pettit, seated across the courtroom looking down at the tabletop.

"You can't even look at me," Brady said. "Why can't you look at me?"

Common Pleas Court Judge Steven R. Geroff admonished Brady to address him, not Pettit, who started crying, wiping tears from his cheeks.

Brady spoke for about 20 minutes, describing the impact of the loss of her 31-year-old son on herself and her family, his wife, and two young children. She said that she and her son and his family had taken a Shore vacation in August 2009 - two months before the Oct. 16 incident at Oasis Gentlemen's Club, 6800 Essington Ave.

"It was the first and last vacation we ever had together," she said.

Pettit, a heavily muscled man in a tight-fitting business suit, was taciturn and straight-faced throughout most of his earlier court appearances. But he erupted in sobs several times when his 21-year-old stepdaughter, Nicole Kozak, testified about how he raised her.

Kozak described Pettit's many acts of kindness toward friends and his encouragement about her working with homeless people: "You are the role model for my life. . . . You are my hero."

Pettit spoke for 10 minutes before he was sentenced and admitted that he threw the first punch in a confrontation in Oasis' parking lot after he had Koons and his friend George Foreacre III ejected.

The punch caused a depressed fracture of Koons' skull. Koons then fell backward, hit the pavement, and suffered a fractured skull. He died two weeks later without regaining consciousness.

"I was wrong for my actions that day and I'll remember that forever," Pettit told the judge.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Levenberg asked for a prison sentence of nine to 18 years, but Geroff disagreed, citing Pettit's lack of a prior criminal record and testimonials from 25 relatives and friends identified by defense lawyer A. Charles Peruto Jr.

Geroff, 75, a senior judge on the bench for 23 years, was visibly affected by the emotion in the room. He called it the most difficult sentencing hearing he'd ever handled.

"My heart's broken," the judge told the gallery.

Geroff said that "Mr. Koons did not deserve to be killed that day, no matter whether he was intoxicated."

Geroff added that surveillance video from outside and inside Oasis clearly showed that Pettit had used excessive force and had tried to cover up what happened by disabling the video equipment.

Some people in the packed courtroom were unhappy with the sentence, as were some hearing about it later.

Foreacre, 41, who was with Koons that night, said he was outraged that Pettit did not get a longer sentence.

"I hope and pray this judge goes through a situation like this and waits nine years and doesn't get justice," Foreacre said.

At trial in June, Foreacre testified that he has lasting physical problems from the beating he took that night and is still dealing with the emotional impact of seeing his best friend killed.

Koons' family has faithfully attended Pettit's court proceedings since he was arrested. Pettit's first trial in 2012 ended with the jury hung on the issue of murder or involuntary manslaughter.

Two years later, Pettit unexpectedly pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, and it was not until November 2015 that he succeeded in withdrawing the plea.

On June 30, a Philadelphia jury found Pettit guilty of third-degree murder in Koons' death and of assault-related charges for the attack on Foreacre.

On security video from Oasis, Pettit is seen sucker-punching Foreacre inside the bar, and then ejecting him and Koons. The video also shows Koons on the ground outside the club's front door, and Pettit kicking him several times in the side.

Foreacre and Koons, who were intoxicated, remained in the Oasis parking lot, calling 911 and taunting Pettit and some bouncers as they watched from the lobby.

But when Oasis owner Robert Laflar arrived in his Hummer SUV at 6:15 p.m., Pettit and his staff rushed out to join Laflar. The video shows Laflar sucker-punching Foreacre to the ground while one bouncer holds Koons off in the background.

Of five people originally charged in the incident, Pettit was the last to face trial. Laflar died of a drug overdose at 46 in January 2012. Three Oasis bouncers were acquitted in a nonjury trial in October 2012.

jslobodzian@phillynews.com215-854-2985

@joeslobo www.philly.com/crimeandpunishment