Maryland man gets probation in manslaughter of Las Vegas private investigator

A Maryland man was sentenced to probation Tuesday for causing a man’s September 2014 death by punching him and knocking him to the ground.

“I wish I could rewind the clock 23 months,” the defendant said at his sentencing hearing.

Dikran “Nick” Dourian, 48, pleaded guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter for unintentionally killing 66-year-old Las Vegas resident Michael Wysocki after an argument at the Bellagio.

Dourian entered a type of guilty plea that required him to admit only that prosecutors could prove their case against him.

In court on Tuesday, he apologized to relatives of the victim.

“I’m not an evil person,” Dourian said.

District Judge Kerry Earley sentenced Dourian to a maximum of five years’ probation. She also ordered him to pay a $3,000 fine and complete anger management courses.

“I want to tell the Wysocki family I would, in no way by my sentence, minimize your loss in any way,” the judge said.

She said she did not know Wysocki, who worked as a private investigator, but she knows “very many people in this community thought very highly of him, and he earned that.”

Dourian is not allowed to return home to Maryland for the duration of his probation.

Defense attorney Robert Draskovich said he worked with prosecutors for nearly two years on the plea deal.

Records show that Dourian and Wysocki got into an argument at the Bellagio on Sept. 8, 2014, while working on a private investigation.

Dourian followed Wysocki to the parking garage, where he confronted and punched him. Wysocki’s head hit the ground, and he was taken to University Medical Center. He died at the hospital on Sept. 26, 2014.

The Clark County Coroner’s office determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and ruled the death a homicide.

Wysocki’s sister, Sharon Davidson, spoke emotionally as she addressed the judge with a prepared statement.

“We’re tremendously sad, totally devastated, super angry at the brutal attack and subsequent death of our brother,” Davidson said.

She said she did not consider probation an adequate sentence.

“People are put in jail for minor offenses as traffic, ticket warrants,” Davidson said. “To kill someone should at least be the same penalty, not to walk away with a slap on the wrist.”

Wysocki’s brother, Dale, also addressed the court, expressing disappointment that Dourian would not face jail time.

He said a fragile defibrillator placed in Michael Wysocki’s chest was always a concern for his brother.

“He was very concerned about what would happen if he got into a physical fight and got struck,” Dale Wysocki said.

Dale Wysocki said Dourian never called to check on his brother for the weeks he was in the hospital before he was taken off life support.

“You’re a bully and a coward, and you seem to be getting away with it,” Dale Wysocki told the defendant, who fought back tears in the courtroom.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Find @BlakeApgarLV on Twitter.