Arctic Bay man jailed two years for savage beating

An Arctic Bay man received a sentence of two years less a day Nov. 17 for an attack in which he and another man beat their victim so badly he required a medevac, hospitalization and reconstructive surgery.

Silas Barnabas, 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for an attack in which he and co-accused Dean Hughes beat Simonie Shappa badly enough to require a medevac to Ottawa in September 2009.

Hughes has already pleaded guilty to his part of in the attack and will receive his sentence in February on the Arctic Bay court circuit.

According to a statement of facts read in court, Barnabas and Hughes went to Shappa’s home and beat him up, left and the returned for more punching and kicking.

In the process, they inflicted about $12,000 worth of damage on Shappa’s home.

They also forced Shappa to take them to the home of another man, Titus Echeak, where they were intent on more violence.

Shappa tried to run away from Barnabas and Hughes, but they chased him down and beat him severely.

Shappa needed reconstructive surgery to his left eye and now needs glasses for the first time in his life.

Doctors also had to rebuild his jaw and implant a metal plate in his head.

Cooper said Shappa is now afraid to sleep at night.

“This was a brutal attack and Mr. Barnabas has a prior criminal record,” Justice Sue Cooper said, though she also said Barnabas’s previous record did not include any offences of violence.

She gave him 18 months credit for the 13 months of time he’s served while his case went though the court system.

Barnabas’s sentence is the maximum possible without it becoming mandatory to serve in a federal prison.

After the five months he still has to serve, Barnabas faces two years of probation with conditions to stay out of trouble and report to a parole officer.