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In the Courts
June
6, 2003
Second beating death in Iqaluit house since 1999
Iqaluit resident Dale Pearce died on May 31 in Ottawa from injuries sustained
in a drunken brawl at an Iqaluit residence on May 24. He was 50.
Chris Dederick, 33, was originally charged with aggravated assault in connection
with the incident. The Crown is expected to raise the offence to a homicide
charge after an autopsy this week.
Dederick appeared in court briefly this week. His lawyer requested an adjournment
until July 8 to gather more information. Dederick offered a reassuring smile
to his spouse and son before exiting the courtroom.
Pearce, who had been sent to the neurological observation unit at the Ottawa
Civic Hospital, is the second person to die from a beating in House 2206C.
Shoatee Joannie, 39, died there in September, 1999, following an unsolved attack
in the house, located near the Road to Nowhere. The cause of Joannie's death
was blunt-force trauma. Joannie's killer remains at large.
June 6, 2003
House arrest for luckless
thief
Aaron Akulukjuk, 20, received a 12-month conditional sentence this week after
pleading guilty to break-and-enter.
Akulukjuk was rifling through a living room in Iqaluit when an occupant returned
home. The occupant chased Akulukjuk out of the house. The police found the would-be
thief hiding under a house.
Akulukjuk was on probation from 14 prior break-and-enter charges in Iqaluit.
"He's not a sophisticated criminal. He gets caught whenever he does something,"
said defence lawyer Andy Mahar.
Three months of his sentence will be served under house arrest.
June 6,
2003
Accused killer awaits
preliminary inquiry
The date for a preliminary inquiry into the first-degree murder charge of Mark
King Jeffrey, 22, will likely be set on July 8.
"We're still waiting for forensic evidence," Crown prosecutor Ken
Kehler said in court this week.
Jeffrey is accused in the Dec. 6 murder of Jennifer Naglingniq. The Inuksuk
high school student was found dead in her home.
Jeffrey is being held in a southern jail and did not appear in court.
June 6, 2003
A lasting image
A man who beat his wife while in a drunken rage will carry the image of his
bloodied and bruised spouse for the rest of his life.
Joe Akpalialuk, 33, was instructed by Judge Beverley Browne to carry a photo
of his partner taken hours after he repeatedly punched her head and face. The
image was one of several photos presented as evidence at his sentencing on June
3.
"I want you to carry it around with you so you never forget what you did
because you were drinking," Browne said. "It's something you should
be ashamed of, not proud of."
Akpalialuk was sentenced to 12 months in jail, followed by two years of probation.
June 6, 2003
Off-duty RCMP officer
grabs Iqaluit man, convicted of assault
Michael Salomonie, 25, received a conditional discharge and was placed on probation
for 12 months after pleading guilty to assault.
Salomonie, a new constable with Iqaluit RCMP force, grabbed a man's neck on
Feb. 15 in a local bar. The incident occurred outside of work, and the man did
not suffer any permanent injury, the court heard.
A conditional discharge is a finding of guilt but does not go on a person's
record. Conditional discharges are common for people, such as Salomonie, with
no prior criminal records.
"I'll shoot you"
threat nets conditional sentence
Samuelie Ipirq of Arctic Bay received a six-month conditional sentence, two
months of it under house arrest, for threatening to kill a police officer.
"I'll shoot you. You're a dead man," Ipirq told Cpl. Clare Kines.
Kines was removing Ipirq from a school dance for being drunk.
Ipirq had no memory of the event.
"He was clearly drunk and out of control but admits [he uttered the threat],"
lawyer Andy Mahar said.
Ipirq was given more than a month's credit for the 21 days he served in remand
custody.
June 6,
2003
Jealous grief drove
man to strike woman, lawyer says
Robert Angnetsiak, 31, of Pond Inlet was sentenced to 90 days in jail, followed
by a six-month conditional sentence after pleading guilty to assault. The jail
sentence will be served intermittently on weekends.
Angnetsiak walked into the Pond Inlet co-op store on
May 5, demanding that his ex-girlfriend leave with him on May 5. When she refused,
Angnetsiak punched the woman in the head and left the store.
The two had just ended a 14-year relationship, the court heard.
"His grief was out of control," said lawyer Andy Mahar.
A no-contact order is part of his sentence.
June 6, 2003
Child calls police
in domestic attack
Mosesee Kilabuk, 54, received a six-month conditional sentence after pleading
guilty to assault.
Kilabuk smashed his common-law partner in the head with a phone on Feb. 19.
Their eight-year-old child ran to the women's shelter and called the police
for help, the court heard.
"He's the one who got hurt the most in this," said Judge Beverley
Browne.
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