Four suspects face mischief charges following Nunavut jail riot

The four suspects involved in a Sept. 25 riot at Baffin Correctional Centre now each face a charge of mischief over $5000. (FILE PHOTO)

Four inmates at the Baffin Correctional Centre each face a charge of mischief stemming from a September riot at the Iqaluit jail.

The four inmates allegedly damaged and destroyed most of the facility’s medium security sleeping area early Sept. 25 as well as a section of the centre’s maximum security bed space.

Department of Justice officials have not provided details on what led to the incident that morning, nor have they said what sort of damage was caused during the incident.

The four suspects – Steven Akittirq, 27; Gary Arnaquq, 36; Deano Kadlak, 32; and Jobie Kadloo, 27 – each face a single charge of mischief over $5,000, the Nunavut RCMP said this week.

The four were set to appear in court Nov. 6, but that appearance was postponed until Dec. 3.

At least one of the suspects, Steven Akittirq, has been transferred to a detention facility outside Nunavut.

Akittirq was being held in connection with the 2014 death of an Igloolik woman. He pleaded guilty to her second-degree murder last month and is scheduled to be sentenced in the New Year.

During the night of the riot, there were 55 inmates at the BCC: 20 who were sentenced and 35 who were in remand custody awaiting the outcome of their charges in court.

Justice officials have since said that “significant repairs” and upgrades have been made so that similar incidents cannot be repeated.

Work is currently underway on the design of the new 112-bed Qikiqtani Correctional Healing Centre, which is set to replace the BCC and provide additional rehabilitative programming by 2020.

– With files from Sarah Rogers and Steve Ducharme