Iqaluit standoff shooter looks at four- to six-year sentence

A police officer in winter commando gear stands on the balcony of house 1671 near the end of the armed standoff that lasted from April 28 to April 30, 2015. (FILE PHOTO)

The streets in most of the Happy Valley neighbourhood of Iqaluit were barricaded for nearly 42 hours during the armed standoff that spanned three days in Iqaluit, from April 28 to April 30, 2015. (FILE PHOTO)

Sgt. Michael Hatch of the Iqaluit municipal enforcement department removes barricades from roads leading to the city’s Happy Valley neighbourhood, whose residents endured a lockdown from 4 p.m. April 28 to shortly after 10 a.m. April 30. (FILE PHOTO)

Jamie Mikijuk, 28, the Iqaluit man who in 2015 barricaded himself inside a Happy Valley house and exchanged gunfire with police during a 41-hour standoff will likely spend at least four years behind bars.

Mikijuk had pleaded guilty this past August to multiple firearms offences and Justice Paul Bychok heard preliminary sentencing submissions from Crown and defence lawyers Nov. 29.

Crown lawyer Caroline Lirette recommended a six-year prison sentence for Mikijuk’s offences, minus time already served in remanded custody.

“There is a prevalence of firearm related offences in the territory. Hunting is a way of life in Nunavut, but the Crown submits that citizens continue to leave their firearms and ammunition unsecured and too readily accessible,” Lirette told Bychok.

“When you mix this reality with alcohol and mental health issues, some citizens, like Mr. Mikijuk, find themselves in court facing a penitentiary sentence.”

According to an agreed set of facts submitted by lawyers, police responded to Mikijuk’s Happy Valley residence at house 1671 on April 28, 2015 after receiving notification from Mikijuk’s girlfriend that, after speaking to him over the phone, she believed he was drunk, suicidal and armed.

When RCMP went to the residence, Mikijuk opened fire from within the house with a .17 caliber rifle, resulting in a 41-hour standoff with multiple gunshots discharged by both Mikijuk and the RCMP.

The standoff resulted in most of Iqaluit’s Happy Valley neighbourhood being blockaded for days, preventing residents who lived in the area from returning to their homes.

Mikijuk surrendered to police April 30, after continuous conversations with negotiators and his father convinced him to give up.

Investigators recovered empty bottles of wine and drug paraphernalia at the house, as well as five more unsecured guns and about 400 rounds of unspent ammunition.

Mikijuk maintained that none of the nearly two-dozen shots the took with his .17 caliber rifle during the standoff were aimed at specific people, and that he directed them “in the air” or at the ceiling and at various pieces of furniture, said Mikujuk’s lawyer, Will McNair.

McNair said his client should receive the mandatory minimum sentence for the reckless discharge of a firearm, which is four years.

McNair said Mikijuk’s peaceful surrender after the standoff, plus his guilty plea, exemplary behavior and willingness to seek anger and addictions therapy while in custody, makes him an ideal candidate for reintegration into society.

Bychok requested that the Crown’s office undertake additional efforts to canvass Happy Valley residents to determine the impact of Mikijuk’s actions on the community, which he said would be a factor in the court’s decision.

“I think all these people should be given a meaningful opportunity to express how this extremely serious incident affected their lives, because we are talking about a standoff that lasted 41 hours,” Bychok said.

“I know there were some people who did not have access to their homes and had to find alternate arrangements. There were other people who snuck by the RCMP to try and rescue their pets, who needed attention. There were other people, I’m told, who were escorted by RCMP back into their homes.”

Lirette said the Crown previously canvased about 30 homes in Happy Valley to collect victim impact statements, but only one resident ever filed a form.

That resident, who identified himself as a father and a husband, said Mikijuk’s actions left him traumatized and worried for his family’s safety, along with the threat of a copycat incident.

“One violent event begets violent events,” he wrote, calling for the court’s sentence to be a deterrent against future acts.

And Iqaluit RCMP officer, Const. Stephen Kilabuk, filed the only other victim statement submitted by the Crown.

Kilabuk was positioned across from Mikijuk’s residence at house 498 during the standoff. A stray bullet fired by Mikijuk narrowly missed him.

In his written statement, Const. Kilabuk said that at the time of the standoff, he feared his children would grow up without a father and called on Mikijuk to learn from his mistakes and seek therapy in the future if he is unable to cope.

“Drinking and smoking drugs did not make it better, those choices gave you the nerve to shoot several bullets from inside your house, not knowing where those rounds might end up,” he wrote in the statement, which was read into the record by Lirette.

“It is my hope that you can think long and hard about what you’ve done… your actions that day could have taken the life of my colleagues, my life, or the life of anyone that walked in your path.”

In addition to the six-year sentence, the Crown recommended a mandatory 10-year ban on Mikijuk’s access to non-restricted firearms, along with a lifetime ban for restricted firearms and the submission of Mikijuk’s DNA into the national database of offenders.

The Crown also said it will pursue the forfeiture of all firearms seized at the residence.

Jamie’s father, Mick Mikijuk, owns all the firearms seized by police at the residence, but many of them were not secured or stored legally, along with the ammunition.

Jamie Mikijuk—who attended the hearing dressed in blue correctional centre sweatpants and sweatshirt— appeared calm and attentive throughout the proceeding, but did not directly address the court.

McNair entered into the court an apology written by Mikijuk, but the letter was not read openly.

Lawyers are scheduled to meet again at Nunavut’s Court of Justice Dec. 2 to set a date for the final sentencing submissions.

Bychok is expected to issue his decision some time in early 2017.