After lawyers agree, Rankin Inlet man pleads guilty to manslaughter

Pablo Kappi, 26, has admitted that he caused the death of Joseph Patterk in 2015. He is to appear for a sentencing hearing on his manslaughter plea on June 22 in Rankin Inlet. (FILE PHOTO)

A Rankin Inlet man charged in the death of Joseph Patterk in 2015 has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder but guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Pablo Kappi, 26, appeared before Justice Paul Bychok at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit April 21 to enter his plea.

“In relation to what happened… you are pleading guilty to the lesser and included offense of manslaughter?” Bychok asked.

“Yes, sir, I do understand. Guilty of manslaughter,” Kappi replied.

Kappi entered the plea with the consent of Crown lawyer Barry McLaren.

Members of the Rankin Inlet RCMP arrested Kappi July 30, 2015, after the hamlet’s emergency medical services “responded to a report of a male in distress” at around 7 a.m. that morning.

That man, Joseph Patterk, 26, eventually died.

The office of Nunavut’s coroner, citing the ongoing police investigation, did not release the cause of Patterk’s death.

Kappi’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 22 in Rankin Inlet.

Crown and defense lawyers told Bychok they’re preparing an agreed statement of facts to be put before the sentencing judge at that time.

Defense lawyer David Berg also said a psychological evaluation of Kappi is not necessary.

He told the court that Kappi had previously chosen to be tried by a judge sitting alone.

Bychok reminded Kappi that the presiding judge ultimately determines the nature of his crime, despite his plea of manslaughter.

“Do you also understand that any agreement that your lawyer may have made with the prosecutor does not bind the court? It’s up to the judge to decide what the appropriate sentence is?” Bychok said.

“Yes, I do,” replied Kappi.

Manslaughter is a lesser form of homicide than murder, and is often applied to people who kill without intending to kill.

There is no mandatory minimum sentence for manslaughter, unless the killing is committed with a firearm, and the maximum sentence is life in prison.

Kappi has been held in custody at the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit since his arrest last year, and will remain in remand at that facility until his Rankin Inlet court appearance in June.