Etienne Jacobish should spend at least 12 years in jail for Natuashish murder, lawyers say

Etienne Jacobish could spend at least the next 12 years behind bars for shooting a Natuashish man to death with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Jacobish pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year, and appeared in a Happy Valley-Goose Bay courtroom on Tuesday to hear submissions on his sentence.

Jacobish had previously been charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. A second-degree murder charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison, with a minimum of 10 years until a convicted person can be considered for parole.

The prosecutor and Jacobish's defence lawyer jointly asked Justice Stacy Ryan for a parole ineligibility period of 12 years.

Jacobish and the victim were both members of Mushuau Innu First Nation and residents of Natuashish and were known to one another, according to an agreed statement of facts presented Tuesday.

The statement says investigators couldn't uncover a concrete motive for the murder, but revealed that Jacobish believed  the victim was stealing from him. On multiple occasions before the shooting, Jacobish asked the victim not to enter his home.  

On Jan. 3, 2021, Jacobish fired three shots from the porch of his Natuashish residence at a man on the street. Shortly after, a community member flagged down a RCMP patrol officer who was leaving the parking lot of the community clinic near the site of the shooting.

The officer saw the victim lying on the road and thought he had been hit by a vehicle, but then noticed birdshot and shotgun wads, the statement said.

The officer, with the help of the person who had waved him down, brought the victim to the community clinic in the pan of the officer's truck, where the man was later declared dead by clinic staff. An autopsy performed on the victim later revealed the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the head, neck and back.

Shortly after the shooting, Jacobish went to the RCMP detachment to declare his guilt. "It was me," Jacobish told police. "I shot him."

Jacobish later identified himself and said, "Lock me up, lock me up, I was scared," and placed his hands behind his back. 

Jacobish gave RCMP permission to enter his home, where they retrieved the weapon.

Jacobish had previous firearm ban

Jacobish had previously received a 10-year firearm prohibition in 2011, which was still in effect at the time of the fatal shooting. The prohibition stemmed from an incident in Natuashish, where Jacobish fired shots at a police vehicle.

The court also heard about a Gladue report from 2014 which Crown prosecutor Jennifer Standen called an "important resource."

A Gladue report presents the circumstances of a self-identified Indigenous person's life for a judge to consider while deciding on a sentence. The report can include personal and community histories and traumas. 

The report for Jacobish said he grew up in a home with parents who struggled with alcohol and physically and emotionally abused each other and the children in the home. Jacobish spent time in various foster placements and in the past has had suicidal ideations and struggled with addictions. 

Jacobish also expressed remorse in the minutes and months following the events, turning himself in at the police detachment and pleading guilty five months after the fatal shooting. In doing so, Standen said, Jacobish saved witnesses as young as 13 years old from needing to testify and spared the victim's family from a lengthy trial.

Standen described the crime as bold, reminding the court that it took place in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon. Jacobish was determined in his actions as he fired three shots and was not deterred by people of all ages witnessing the shooting, she argued, saying Jacobish placed bystanders in physical danger and took away their sense of safety in their own community.

Standen also said Jacobish was in no danger at the time: he was not defending himself or his property, and his decision was driven by frustration.

In addition to a 12-year parole ineligibility, the Crown is also asking for a lifetime weapons prohibition and a DNA order. 

Defence attorney Jason Edwards stressed the remorse Jacobish expressed, adding that his client wishes he could go back in time.

Jacobish declined to speak to the court. He will be sentenced Friday afternoon.

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