Man has history of violence
Gunman ‘immersed in a culture and atmosphere of extreme violence’
A man arrested after shootings last summer in Halifax saw his statutory release revoked the previous year for throwing a woman down the stairs twice, threatening her life, then vanishing for nearly three months.
Shiquawn Marcel Upshawparis, who turns 27 next month, was staying with a close family member on Aug. 15, 2020. He was on leave from a community correctional centre when he visited his ex.
“You arrived at the residence to find your ex-intimate partner and her friend. You were angry that her friend was there, and you wanted her gone,” said the decision that sent him back to prison.
“As she was trying to leave, you grabbed her and pushed her down the stairs and you smashed her phone. You told her that if she ever came back that you would kill her. When she attempted to come upstairs to get her items, you threw her down the stairs again.”
Police showed up and tried to come in, but the exgirlfriend told them Upshawparis wasn’t inside and that they couldn’t take a look.
‘HIGH-RISK TRAFFIC STOP’
Upshaw-paris was advised to return to his federal halfway house, but he didn’t come back.
“You went unlawfully at large until your arrest on Nov. 8, 2020. Police had to conduct a high-risk traffic stop after you failed to stop for a regular traffic stop.”
For the stairs incident Upshaw-paris was charged with assault and uttering threats. Those charges were dismissed on Dec. 17, 2021.
He was acquitted a year ago on the charge of fleeing police.
“On a positive note, you found employment and although you changed positions, you maintained your employment; you successfully completed the recommended programming; and you appear to have been respectful and polite with halfway house staff and your case management team,” said the parole board.
Though it notes Upshawparis bought a vehicle without informing his case management team and hid it in the parking lot near the halfway house.
“Your risk was escalating and you presented an undue risk to public safety.”
‘EXTREME CAUTION’
The parole board was exercising “extreme caution” with Upshaw-paris because of his lengthy and violent criminal history.
“Your offending consists of a significant number of weapons offences, with considerable violence, and the board believes you were immersed in a culture and atmosphere of extreme violence.”
His victims ranged from the friends of intimate partners to other criminals, said the parole board.
“You have also displayed deliberation and planning in the current offences, with little regard for public safety and with little expression of victim empathy on your part for the impact of your crimes.”
At the time he threw a woman down the stairs twice, Upshaw-paris was serving his first federal sentence of three years and two months for his role in a night of shooting that ended in a wild police chase in March of 2017.
‘FIVE GUNSHOTS’
“Police attempted to stop a vehicle after five gunshots were heard near a home in your community in the early hours of the morning,” said the parole board.
“The driver tried to evade police and firearms were thrown out of the vehicle. A high-speed chase, which lasted approximately ten minutes, concluded with many police involved in a high-risk vehicle stop.”
Police arrested the men and recovered the guns they’d thrown out the window.
“You were on a firearm prohibition at the time; you were also subject to a no contact order with your intimate partner because of an assault conviction, which you did not respect,” said the parole board.
‘EARLY’ AND ‘EXTENSIVE’
Upshaw-paris’ criminal history “began early in life and has been extensive,” said the February 2021 parole decision.
Before he was sentenced in 2017, he’d been a free man for just three months.
“This was the longest period you had been in the community in many years,” said the parole board.
While it was his first federal sentence, Upshaw-paris had “been subject to many court orders and court-imposed conditions in the past, and (his) compliance is described as poor.”
Upshaw-paris “had a positive childhood” and never saw any form of abuse in the family home, said his most recent parole decision.
‘KICKED OUT’
“It should be noted that some of your close family members have been involved in the justice system. In your late teens, you were kicked out of the family home and went to reside with an older family member. You have a history of being around negative associates and you are known to harm yourself with weapons.”
Upshaw-paris was “diagnosed with a mental health disorder as a child,” and medicated until his mid-teens.
While he was on remand, he got in trouble for possessing contraband in the form of a shank and brew, using abusive language on jail guards and “unauthorized movements (in cells where assaults took place).”
While he was serving his first hard time, Upshawparis “incurred three serious charges for being found in possession of drug paraphernalia and drugs,” said the parole board.
“During a routine search of your cell, three pen tokers (were found), two tacks with black residue, a lighter and debt sheets with email and etransfer information. There is also information on file that you were involved in an assault on another inmate.”
‘OVER 50 INSTITUTIONAL CHARGES’
But his behavior “had improved significantly” from his previous stints in jail, where Upshaw-paris racked up “over 50 institutional charges” for assaults on other inmates and staff, using abusive language on guards, fighting, acting defiant, not attending work or programs, disobeying orders, possessing contraband (brew and a big nail), hiding behind a shower curtain at lock up, being under the influence and threatening staff.
While he was on statutory release, the law that requires federal offenders who have served two-thirds of a fixed-length sentence be released from prison under supervision, Upshaw-paris was ordered to stay away from booze and drugs and avoid criminals.
“During your release, you were noted as being polite and respectful. There were no issues with the community correctional centre rules and you were taking weekend passes with no reported issues. However, your release was not without issue. In June, 2020 you tested positive for benzodiazepines in one instance and alcohol in another shortly following this breach. You were suspended briefly but your release was maintained with additional interventions. You also incurred motor vehicle fines.”
SHOOTINGS LAST YEAR
Upshaw-paris is slated to go on trial this coming November on 34 charges stemming from events last August and October, including careless handling of a firearm; possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; carrying a concealed firearm; possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition; and four counts of possessing a firearm contrary to a court order.
He was arrested after two Aug. 4, 2022, shootings in Halifax.
One saw bullets strike a home near the intersection of Micmac Street and Chisholm Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. Nobody was hurt.
Fifteen minutes later, police got a call about gunshots near Bently Drive. There were no reports of injuries or property damage from that shooting.
By 12:45 a.m. the next day, police found a car that matched the description of the shooter’s vehicle crashed into a power pole near the intersection of Lacewood and Lincoln Cross drives. They seized a loaded handgun and arrested Upshaw-paris at the scene.
By Oct. 4 of last year, Upshaw-paris was out of jail and in trouble again.
Members of the police Guns and Gangs Unit and the Emergency Response Team stopped his car that night, arrested Upshaw-paris and seized oxycodone pills and a loaded gun.
He's now behind bars on remand.