Iqaluit man receives 10-month sentence for 2011 assault

Jamesie Kopalie, 38, received a 10-month sentence April 2 in the Nunavut Court of Justice for a “severe” beating he inflicted on another Iqaluit man in 2011. (FILE PHOTO)

An Iqaluit man received a 10-month jail sentence for almost beating another Iqaluit man to death in November 2011 in a judgment handed down April 2 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

Jamesie Kopalie, 38, who had been charged with aggravated assault, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of causing bodily harm to Joanah Nookiguak, who had to be sent to an Ottawa hospital after the Nov. 26, 2011 beating.

“I’m sorry for all the incidents that happened,” Kopalie told the court April 2. “When I drink I’m a different person,” he added.

Kopalie said that he had a son born this past February with whom he’d like to spent time.

“I just want to see my baby. I haven’t seen him since he was born,” he said.

Nunavut Court Justice Bonnie Tulloch said she could see Kopalie’s “obvious remorse.”

“There’s no doubt that you have a horrendous criminal record. You’ve had some difficulties staying out of trouble,” Tulloch said.

“I hear that all the time in Nunavut, that good people when they drink they do [bad] things.”

But if Kopalie hadn’t been drinking the night Nookiguak was beaten up, that incident likely wouldn’t have taken place, she said.

“The injuries are very severe,” she said. “In spite of all that, you’ve come to court and pleaded guilty.”

Given the circumstances, Tulloch said she felt a year in custody was fair, although she reduced that sentence to 10 months, because Kopalie took responsibility for what took place during the beating.

Tulloch also granted Kopalie seven months for time already served in custody, which means he will serve three more months in jail.

Tulloch said she was “well-aware” of the conditions at the Baffin Correctional Centre in Iqaluit, which is not a “good place to be.”

However, “jail is not supposed to be nice,” Tulloch said.

Kopalie also faces a mandatory firearm prohibition and a DNA order.

“You need to deal with your underlying issues, so you don’t keep coming back to court. Your young son needs someone to look up to,” she said.

Looking at photographs of the injuries, which included “face swelling” and bruising on Nookiguak’s body, “the injuries are very severe,” Tulloch said in her sentencing judgment.

Nookiguak was on a respirator and could have died, she said. However, his own alcohol consumption could have delayed his recovery, she added.

Still, “substantial” damage was done to his face and body, she said.

“This was a very serious beating that resulted in hospitalization,” said Crown prosecutor Barry McLaren, who had asked for a sentence of one year in custody.

Kopalie’s defence lawyer, John Thompson, said Kopalie has been in custody since October 25, 2012, and asked for credit for time served during pre-trial custody.

Thompson said that Kopalie had been ferried back and forth to the South and spent time at southern jails, such as an institution at Penetanguishene.

“Even at [the Baffin Correctional Centre], the conditions are appalling,” Thompson said.

Christopher Henderson, a co-accused in the incident, had his matter discharged during the preliminary hearing. Henderson’s common-law wife was also present during the incident.

“Everybody was heavily intoxicated, [and had] a different description of what did take place,” Thompson said.

“Mr. Kopalie is taking responsibility for what happened to his friend,” he said in his pre-sentencing argument.