A 31-year-old man from Tuktoyaktuk has been sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment for firing a shotgun at vehicles parked outside a home in the community last summer.
RCMP said in July 2024 they had arrested and charged a man after Tuktoyaktuk residents reported an “active shooter” in the community on the morning of Canada Day.
Richard Voudrach subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally discharging a firearm while being reckless as to the life or safety of another person.
Earlier this month, in Tuktoyaktuk, Judge Robert Lane convicted Voudrach of the charge and sentenced him to 915 days’ imprisonment.
With 501 days’ credit for time served in pre-trial custody, Voudrach had 414 days – or roughly 59 weeks – of his sentence left to serve.
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The court also prohibited Voudrach from possessing firearms for life.
Additional charges against Voudrach – using a firearm in a careless manner, possessing a firearm while prohibited from doing so, and two charges of mischief for causing damage over $5,000 to the vehicles – were withdrawn. A charge of intentionally discharging a firearm into vehicles parked in front of a house while being reckless as to whether another person was present was stayed.
Facts of the case
According to an agreed statement of facts, in July 2024, Voudrach had been involved in a fight when a woman unsuccessfully tried to stop it.
Voudrach then followed the woman home and retrieved a shotgun from his nearby property. He proceeded to load the shotgun outside the woman’s home and fired five shots at two vehicles parked outside.
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The shots caused extensive damage to the vehicles. One of the shotgun slugs went through a shed and hit the building behind it. Pictures filed with the court showed numerous bullet holes in the vehicles and shed.
The woman, her partner and their two young children were inside the home at the time.
Voudrach then went back to his residence where he placed the shotgun in a shed.
He was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at the time.
Voudrach was arrested by RCMP without incident.
He was taken to the local health centre to get stitches for a cut above his eye when he said: “I had to pull the trigger to show them who’s the boss.”
Alcohol a contributing factor in crime
Voudrach is a repeat criminal offender and his criminal record includes two previous firearms-related convictions.
In a pre-sentencing report, RCMP said alcohol has been a factor in each of Voudrach’s interactions with police. Voudrach attributed his behaviour on July 1, 2024 to alcohol and cocaine use, and said four people had “ganged up on [him] and pissed [him] off.”
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Voudrach said he began using alcohol when he was 27 and his alcohol use increased after he witnessed a friend die by suicide. He said he first used cocaine when he was 29.
The pre-sentencing report states Voudrach was exposed to alcohol use as a child and has a family history of alcohol addiction.
Voudrach said he has remained sober since he was arrested in July 2024.
While incarcerated at the North Slave Correctional Complex in Yellowknife, he completed a substance use management program and attended counselling. A psychologist said he sees potential in Voudrach leading a healthy life.
Voudrach was transferred to the Fort Smith Correctional Complex in October 2024 but was dismissed from the jail for “numerous incidents and poor institutional behaviour.” After being returned to the jail in Yellowknife, he was reported multiple times for poor institutional behaviour. Three of those incidents resulted in disciplinary segregation, also known as solitary confinement.
Voudrach said he accepted responsibility for his actions in July 2024 and expressed remorse for the pain he caused.
Voudrach, who is Inuvialuit, described his childhood as positive and said he was raised in a traditional household with a strong sense of being loved and cared for.
His grandfather attended residential school.
Voudrach left school in Grade 10 and has expressed interesting in completing his Grade 12 equivalency.
