Jack Godfrey died in 2014. The man linked to his death wants his conviction wiped.

By Adam Zielonka

For The Diamondback

A former University of Maryland student who fatally punched a fellow student is asking a county judge to strike his manslaughter conviction from the record.

Arasp Biparva, 25, appeared in Prince George’s County Court on Friday for two hearings related to his prior convictions for second-degree assault and manslaughter.

Police arrested Biparva in 2013 after he knocked university student Jack Godfrey to the ground at the intersection of Route 1 and Knox Road. In late 2014, Godfrey died in his sleep after suffering a seizure that the medical examiner’s office ruled was directly related to those injuries.

Judge Maureen Lamasney struck the assault conviction from Biparva’s record at the request of his lawyer. Now, Judge Albert Northrop must decide whether to follow suit with the more serious conviction.

Godfrey’s mother, Nicola Bridges, said she hopes the judge does not grant his request.

“Jack doesn’t have a life, will never have a wife, will never have kids, will never have grandkids,” she said, “and I was like, ‘This guy wants it struck just because he can’t get a job?'”

The judge wiped the assault conviction Friday because the state had agreed to a probation before judgment. This means that if a first-time offender pleads guilty and complies with the terms and conditions of his probation, his conviction will not be entered into the record.

Biparva’s attorney argued during Friday’s second hearing that the same distinction should apply for the manslaughter conviction.

A Prince George’s County state’s attorney spokesman, John Erzen, said his office did not oppose the judge’s decision regarding second-degree assault, but felt the manslaughter conviction was different.

“With the manslaughter, [the situation] changed because Godfrey died,” Erzen said. “We do oppose a probation before judgment and we feel if the judge did anything other than leave the sentence the way it was, he would be robbing Godfrey’s family any sense of justice they had received with the guilty plea.”

There is “no timetable” for the judge’s ruling, he added.

Biparva was first arrested in 2013 after punching Godfrey outside of Cornerstone Grill and Loft. The prosecution said the punch left Godfrey with a hole in his head the size of an avocado, WUSA9 reported. He was sentenced to 10 days in county jail and two years of probation, and was ordered to pay more than $19,000 in restitution.

After Godfrey died in November 2014, Biparva was arrested again and indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter. He pleaded guilty in November 2015, and last April, he was sentenced to another three years of probation.

This is the first step Biparva can take in the process of expunging his record. Though the assault conviction has been struck, his guilty plea for the assault charge remains on his record listed as a “probation before judgment.” If the judge grants his request, Biparva could file a motion for a hearing in three years to get his record expunged, Erzen said.

Bridges said the defense argued that with the conviction on his record, Biparva could have difficulty finding employment and pursuing other opportunities in life.

Alex Muscanell, Godfrey’s friend and a member of his fraternity, said he doesn’t think the court should make the conviction “disappear.”

“He obviously never wanted to kill Jack,” Muscanell said, “but that is the end result.”

Calls to Biparva’s attorney were not immediately returned.