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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 21-year-old man who attacked another man with bear spray was sentenced on Tuesday to almost eight months in jail for a number of convictions.

Morgan Duncan had pleaded guilty to numerous charges including assault with a weapon and wilfully obstructing a peace officer.

The assault with a weapon charge stemmed from a Sept. 12 incident in which Duncan approached a male acquaintance who was walking to a convenience store on Forrest Drive at 1:30 a.m. Duncan, who was with a female friend at the time, was in possession of a small sword and bear spray. He and the other man began arguing and Duncan hit the man with the handle of the sword. As the argument progressed, Duncan sprayed the man with the bear spray.

The man went home but later went to the hospital to receive medical treatment. At the time Duncan was breaking his court-ordered curfew.

On Aug. 30, Duncan had given police officers a fake name during a traffic stop at roughly 3:20 a.m. A few days later he was arrested by the same police officer, who then discovered Duncan's real name.

Duncan said he lied because he was breaching his court-ordered curfew and did not want to be arrested.

During sentencing Tuesday, he addressed the court by calling Judge Brian Bruser "Mr. Bruser."

"(I'm) starting to see the light," said Duncan.

He expressed a desire to stay sober and become successful. He also said he missed his family.

"You miss your family. You have to get out of jail if you want to see them," said Bruser. "The way to stop cycling is to put on the brakes."

In addition to jail time of eight months minus eight days, Duncan was given a five-year firearms prohibition and must provide a sample of his DNA to be kept on file.

He is currently serving jail time stemming from charges in Inuvik.