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Kimmirut man gets 7 years for shooting at RCMP building

A Kimmirut, Nunavut, man has been sentenced to seven years in a federal penitentiary for shooting at the RCMP building in the community last summer.

Man fired 13 shots before being subdued

A Kimmirut, Nunavut, man has been sentenced to seven years in a federal penitentiary for shooting at the RCMP building in the community last summer.

Joe Utye, 21, pleaded guilty in March to one count of recklessly discharging a firearm. His sentencing hearing was held at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit last week.

Last July, Utye fired 13 shots at the detachment building while two officers and a woman were inside. Utye was drunk at the time of the shooting.

Local residents managed to tie him up with rope until the RCMP emergency response team arrived a couple of hours later from Iqaluit. No one was injured.

The crown had asked for a sentence of six to eight years in a federal penitentiary. The defence wanted six years minus credit for time served.

Justice Robert Kilpatrick issued a written decision Tuesday, sentencing Utye to seven years in prison.

With credit for pre-trial custody, Utye has about another five and a-half years to serve behind bars.