No second chance at bail for Nunavut man who assaulted his surety

A Nunavut man who assaulted a woman who was acting as his surety while he awaited trial on multiple firearms charges won’t get a second chance at bail, Justice Paul Bychok ruled in a judgment released last week.

Following a preliminary inquiry this past May 24, Dennis Piugattuk of Igloolik now faces trial on eight charges that arise from a firearms incident on April 23, 2018.

Included in those charges is an allegation that Piugattuk pointed a firearm at an RCMP officer and an allegation that he was in possession of six improperly stored firearms.

Piugattuk, who had originally faced 23 charges in relation to that incident, was held in pre-trial detention until June 8, 2018, when his common-law partner agreed to act as his surety.

A “surety” is a person who takes responsibility for an accused person and who makes a pledge to pay a certain amount of money if the accused breaks a promise to the court.

But in September, Piugattuk assaulted his common-law partner so badly she needed four stitches at the local health centre to close a wound on her head.

Police arrested Piugattuk and put him back into custody. This past February 13, he pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and breaching his bail.

For that, he received a jail sentence of 153 days, to be followed by 12 months on probation.

And on February 19, a justice of the peace denied Piugattuk’s new bail application.

But after the preliminary inquiry on May 24, Bychok agreed the JP had made an error in law—because the JP had not sought submissions from lawyers.

So right after the preliminary inquiry, when Bychok committed Piugattuk to stand trial on eight charges, whittled down from the original 23, Bychok held another bail hearing.

And after looking at submissions from lawyers, the judge found there’s a strong risk that Piugattuk will re-offend.

“Mr. Piugattuk’s recent past behaviour is the best predictor of how he may be expected to behave in the future. The risk that he will re-offend is too great to permit his release again on these charges,” Bychok said.

That past behaviour includes convictions on six violent crimes and four breaches of court orders, recorded between 2009 and 2019.

In his written judgment, Bychok recited many of those convictions: for assault, uttering threats, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault on a peace officer and breaches of probation.

And he also found releasing him on bail would bring the justice system into disrepute.

“Mr. Piugattuk’s breach of his recognizance was not merely technical in nature. He assaulted and grievously wounded his own surety,” Bychok said.

“Mr. Piugattuk’s release would seriously undermine public confidence that the justice system takes firearm violence and breaches of court orders seriously.”

R. v. Piugattuk, 2019 Nunav... by on Scribd