REGINA – A Yellow Quill First Nation man has pleaded guilty to his part in beating, torturing and robbing a man he and two others picked up from a Regina nightclub two years ago.
Now 25, Austin Severight pleaded guilty Thursday in Regina Provincial Court. He was remanded in custody and is expected to be sentenced May 24.
Two Wadena residents have already been sentenced. In March 2021, 22-year-old Sheridan Squirrel was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison. In April, 25-year-old Jenna Hoffman was handed a six-year global sentence.
Squirrel and Hoffman were arrested after RCMP raided a Wadena home Nov. 5, 2020. They were charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, robbing, and choking to overcome resistance.
Seven months later, Severight was arrested in Tisdale and charged with the same offences. There was a ban on publication on one of Severight’s charges but it has since been lifted.
Brutal attack, torture during robbery
According to court documents, Mark Blanco was drinking at Habano’s Nightclub on Dewdney Avenue in Regina the night of Oct. 3, 2020, when he met up with Hoffman and Squirrel, who were also partying at the club. Severight waited outside in a Chrysler Pacifica, drinking and texting a woman he had dated.
Around 2 a.m., Hoffman left the bar and Blanco followed. Once outside, Blanco and Squirrel chatted and Squirrel invited Blanco to a party with him, Hoffman, and Severight. The three got into the car, which was being driven by Hoffman but registered to Severight. Squirrel was in the front and Blanco was in the back seat with Severight.
They stopped at a gas station in Balgonie at 3:03 a.m. and Blanco, Hoffman and Squirrel got out. Severight stayed in the car. Blanco was asked to go in and buy cigarettes for Squirrel. When they left, Hoffman was still driving but Blanco got into the front beside her, and Squirrel went in the back seat with Severight. Suddenly, Blanco was choked from behind by a rope or belt and his face was covered. He was then hit on the head numerous times with what was believed to be a hammer.
Blanco broke free and jumped out of the still-moving car. Hoffman stopped the vehicle and both Squirrel and Severight caught Blanco, put him back in the front seat, and bound his legs. They told Blanco to put his hands behind the rear of the front passenger seat but he refused so they hit him in the head again with the hammer. Blanco put his hands behind the seat and they were bound.
Blanco was robbed of a $900 watch, his wallet containing about $220 cash, a $100 prepaid Vanilla Visa card, and all of his ID. The men took Blanco’s bank card from his wallet and demanded he give them the PIN. He gave them the wrong PIN.
The car stopped at the Fort Qu’Appelle Credit Union at 4:07 a.m. and Squirrel got out and tried using the card at the ATM. Squirrel went back to the car angry that Blanco gave him the wrong PIN. Severight hit him again on the head with the hammer. Severight and squirrel threatened to cut off Blanco’s fingers or kill him if he didn’t give them the correct PIN. A bolt cutter was then used to cut off Blanco's left pinky finger. Blanco gave him the correct PIN and passed out. Bank records show that three attempts were made to use the card but no money was withdrawn.
Blanco regained consciousness when he was being dragged through a field by his feet, still bound. Severight and Squirrel took turns beating him with their feet and hands. Hoffman hit and kicked Blanco in the face and head. Blanco lost consciousness again.
Court records show that Hoffman described what was being done to Blanco by Severight and Squirrel as “torture.” She said she was so sickened by what Squirrel and Severight were doing, and had done to Blanco, that she went back to the car and turned up the music to drown out Blanco’s screaming. She told police that she heard Blanco scream one last time before Severight and Squirrel returned to the car. She thought Blanco was dead. Squirrel and Severight stripped Blanco of his pants, shoes and underwear before leaving him for dead in the isolated, rural field.
Blanco found on side of road
Blanco eventually regained consciousness and heard a car in the distance. He was able to walk out of the field toward the road but collapsed on the side of the road. At about 9:37 a.m. a couple who were driving on the road found Blanco, hours after he was dragged into the field. They called 911.
Court documents show that Blanco was covered in blood and had numerous injuries. His left pinky was cut off, his ear was detached and hanging off his head. He was wearing a sweater but no pants or shoes. He had taken his black T-shirt and put his legs through the arm holes trying to cover himself.
Blanco told the couple that he was very cold and thirsty. They covered him with a blanket and gave him water while they waited for first responders. He was taken to a hospital in Fort Qu’Appelle and then transferred to Regina General Hospital.
Medical reports introduced into court revealed that Blanco’s injuries consisted of his left pinky finger being cut off at the last knuckle closest to his hand, his left ear was almost entirely off, there were 19 lacerations to the back of his head that required 107 staples to close, he had a cut right through the upper lip/left cheek, he had eight broken and missing teeth, as well as scratches and bruises on various locations across his entire body.
