Man gets 26 to 52 years for deaths of 2 men found in burning Point Breeze home

Vincent Smith lived a wanderer’s lifestyle.

He didn’t drive, traveled the country, rode his bike everywhere, loved reading Jack Kerouac and fancied discussion about Kierkegaard.

At his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, a long-time friend called him nonviolent, peaceful and kind with a “gentle soul.”

But Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Berosh said she couldn’t reconcile those sentiments with what Smith did.

He pleaded guilty in April to two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of John Van Dyke and Steven Pariser, whose bodies were found on Feb. 26, 2018. He also admitted to setting the house on fire when police arrived to check on Pariser, claiming he was trying to kill himself that day.

“They were completing a welfare check, and at that moment, the defendant decided to strike a match. That defendant made a choice that day,” Berosh said. “These were callous killings, and he needs to be accountable, judge, for these acts.”

She asked Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani to sentence Smith, 61, of Point Breeze North for each victim consecutively, which is what he did.

Mariani ordered Smith to serve five to 10 years for each victim in the homicide, and four to eight years for each first responder who was endangered that day in the fire.

In total, Smith will serve 26 to 52 years in prison.

“This was conscious conduct by an intelligent, mature man,” Mariani said. “The impact you had on the lives of many, many people in our community — you took two of them — cannot be ignored.”

According to the prosecution, on Feb. 21, 2018, Smith was at the home in Point Breeze and got into an argument with Van Dyke, who he said was his long-time friend, and Pariser. Then, he said, there was a fist fight with Pariser, who also bit him.

Smith said the men thought he was going to steal their marijuana, and that they attacked him.

“It was self-defense. It was overboard,” he said. “I couldn’t stop myself. I was frightened, really frightened.”

After the attack, police said, Smith threw both men down a set of basement stairs, hiding one under the steps and covering the other with bags of trash and garbage. Both men, police said, had significant head trauma. Smith was also accused of attacking them with a hammer.

Afterward, police said, Smith remained in the home for days until Van Dyke’s brother called the police to check on him. When officers arrived at the house, they said, Smith lit matches, threw one into a pool of lighter fluid and set the rowhouse on fire.

He was critically injured and taken to a local burn unit.

On Wednesday, as Smith began his statement to the court, he said, “I guess sorry doesn’t really cut it.

“This is as shocking to me as it is to them. It’s an aberration.”

Smith told Mariani that he is not a violent man.

“I thought I was one of the most compassionate people I’ve known in my life,” he said.

Smith insisted he didn’t use a hammer on Van Dyke. Police documented injuries on Smith, including a bite mark and fresh scratches on his hand. Smith said at his plea hearing he was struck in the head by a hammer.

“I swear I never once touched him with a hammer,” Smith said. “I understand it was abhorrent. I should have ran away.

“I know I should have ran away.”

Defense attorney Daniel Eichinger told the court that his client has genuine remorse.

“He’s grappling with what happened that day — that it’s not in his character. It’s not who he is,” Eichinger said.

He asked Mariani to give Smith a chance to someday be a father and grandfather outside of prison walls again.

“Ultimately, I believe he deserves a chance,” Eichinger said.

But the victims’ families disagreed.

Jeffrey Van Dyke told the court that his brother’s death has devastated their family.

“You have completely thrown our lives in turmoil,” he told the defendant.

His 5-year-old daughter writes letters to her uncle, not understanding his death and what happened.

“Dear Uncle John, I want you to come over. We’re going to have fun at our house,” she wrote in one.

Jeffrey Van Dyke told Mariani that he saw the trauma to his brother’s head when he had to identify the body prior to cremation.

That experience, he said, was pure agony.

“I will envision that day for the rest of my life.”