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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A homeless Yellowknife man pleaded guilty to four charges including assault on Wednesday after his lawyer argued he was too ill to stand trial.

Donald Berens, 47, has been homeless since 1994. He continues to live on the city streets and sometimes at the Salvation Army. His attorney, Hugh Latimer, argued that Berens was "not well enough to take part in these proceedings."

Berens has a chronic lung ailment and needs portable oxygen most of the time. He has struggled to find housing and was also badly beaten by another shelter user last October while staying at the Salvation Army.

"The matter has been going on almost a year," said Judge Michel Bourassa.

Berens' charges date back as far as November 2007. A trial had been scheduled to go ahead with three witnesses in attendance for the prosecution. Latimer argued he was still trying to track down a witness that could back up Berens' defence, but she had been difficult to locate.

Defence and Crown counsel were able to reach an agreement in which Berens pleaded guilty to assault, mischief, breach of probation, and failure to comply with an undertaking.

Berens was not sentenced on Wednesday in order to get medical documents to the Crown as proof of his bad health.

However, Bourassa rejected Latimer's request to delay sentencing until September, setting a date of Aug. 29 instead.

"Cases don't get better with time, like wine," said Bourassa. "They get worse."