Yellowknife (Apr 22/05) - A severely intoxicated Yellowknife man who crashed his car into a ditch was prohibited from driving for 15 months during a court hearing Tuesday.

Bryan Jerome had 2.5 times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood when he was arrested at 9:20 a.m. near downtown Yellowknife. Police discovered Jerome, 41, reclined in the front seat of the car, which was lying in a ditch.

An officer had to shake Jerome before he woke up. When he came around, Jerome told the officer "I'm just drunk," Crown Attorney Sandra Aitken told the court.

A breathalyser exam pegged his blood alcohol level at 0.20, Aitken said.

In addition to the driving ban, Territorial Court Judge Michel Bourassa fined Jerome $800 and sentenced him to one day behind bars.

Meanwhile, drunk driver who got stuck in a snowbank near Dettah was fined $700 and barred from driving for a year Tuesday.

James Nolan, 58, had a blood alcohol level of 0.14 - nearly twice the legal limit, when police discovered his car wedged in a snowbank at around 3 a.m. on Feb. 13.

Nolan said he had been driving around the Yellowknife area that night after having "a few drinks" at a downtown club. Police found three empty cooler bottles in his vehicle.

"You were awfully drunk to be driving around in the middle of the night," said Judge Michel Bourassa.