Former Halifax bouncer appeals manslaughter conviction

Alexander Levy is seen at Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax for his sentencing hearing on April 24, 2026. (Paul DeWitt/CTV News Atlantic)

A former Halifax bouncer who was recently sentenced to four years in custody for manslaughter in connection to the death of a patron outside a bar on Christmas Eve 2022 is appealing his conviction.

Alexander Pishori Levy, 40, who was charged with choking Ryan Sawyer outside the Halifax Alehouse, was convicted of manslaughter and criminal negligence following a trial in November.

Last month, Justice James Chipman sentenced Sawyer to four years in custody along with a 10-year mandatory weapons prohibition and a DNA order.

In a court document dated last Wednesday, Levy appealed the manslaughter and criminal negligence convictions to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, saying the trial judge erred by failing to consider evidence “material to the elements of manslaughter and the justification of self-defence.”

The document notes that Levy is seeking the convictions be set aside and acquittals entered, or that a new trial be ordered, or that the current sentence be changed to an 18-month conditional sentence.

A separate document submitted to the Court of Appeal requested Levy be granted bail pending the appeal.

At the trial, Levy testified that he squeezed Sawyer’s neck for 10 to 15 seconds, but the Crown argued it was closer to two minutes.

Sawyer, 31, died in hospital on Dec. 24, 2022.

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Callum Smith

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