SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 22-year-old Yellowknife man was fined $1,200 after he was caught spinning his wheels in an alley doing what was described by Crown prosecutor Jill Andrews as a "brake-stand."

RCMP observed the driver pressing the brakes and gas at the same time - what is called a "brake-stand" - causing gravel to fly up from behind the wheels in the alley behind the Raven Pub at around 11:55 p.m. on Feb. 27, Andrews said.

By the time the RCMP officer approached the car, the driver was in the back seat and another man was in the passenger seat.

Andrews said the man, who has no previous criminal record, told the officer he had not been driving because he was drunk.

"There was also open alcohol in the vehicle with him," she said.

The man was given a breathalyzer test and was found to be at more than twice the legal limit.

Defence lawyer Dan Rideout said the man spent roughly eight hours in police cells after he was arrested that night.

Judge Brian Bruser said the "brake-stand" the man was doing with his car "seems to me more like being a dangerous show-off.

"Who knows where that vehicle could've skyrocketed off to," he said, said there were people standing nearby at the time. "Thankfully for the public there was some very fine police work."

The man was convicted of having care and control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated and given a fine of $1,200 with a $180 surcharge, and was banned from driving for one year.