Lapeer — After emotional impact statements from the family of a Livonia man who was mauled to death last July by two dogs, the animals’ owners were both sentenced Tuesday to up to 15 years in prison.
It could have been much worse for Valbona Lucaj, 45, and Sebastiano Quagliata, 46, of Metamora Township who were facing potential sentences of up to life in prison after both were initially charged with second-degree murder and harboring a dangerous animal causing the death of 46-year-old Craig Sytsma.
A courtroom packed with friends and family from both sides heard brief but tearful remarks of their pain and suffering as the couple, both dressed in orange Lapeer County Jail jumpsuits, sat just a few feet away, fighting back their own pain.
