SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A taxi driver who struck a co-worker in the head with a tire iron was sentenced to nine months of house arrest Dec. 9.

"I smashed him in the head to protect myself," Ahmed Makaran, 57, told the court the previous day at his sentencing hearing. "I was scared. I don't like fighting."

Makaran pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon on Oct. 13.

The attack occurred on Feb. 20, 2010, at around 2:30 a.m. at the Shell gas station on Range Lake Road. The victim was putting gas in his cab when he noticed Makaran parked at the side of the station. He walked over to Makaran's taxi and opened the door. Makaran turned around and told two customers sitting in the back seat that they were "witnesses." When he turned back around, Makaran said the victim punched him in the face and walked away.

The victim said at the sentencing hearing he only went over to Makaran to ask why he had given him the finger earlier in the day, and then walked away.

Makaran got out of the taxi and struck the victim in the head with a tire iron. Covered in the victim's blood, Makaran got back into his cab and drove his two customers downtown.

"He was more concerned with his fare than his victim," argued Crown prosecutor Danielle Vaillancourt.

Given the severity of the crime, she requested a jail term of six to eight months.

The RCMP arrested Makaran shortly after. An ambulance took the victim to Stanton Territorial Hospital where he received seven stitches to close a three-inch gash to his head.

Judge Bernadette Schmaltz acknowledged there has been longtime feud between the two men, but said she didn't know the details of what could have led to such a violent "overreaction."

She accepted defence lawyer Glen Rutland's request for a conditional sentence on the grounds the attack was "out of character," and that Makaran was unlikely to re-offend.

For the first six months of his house arrest, Makaran must remain in his residence except to go to and from work, attend religious services or to see his conditional sentence supervisor. For the last three months he will be under a curfew.

The sentence has several conditions. While the assailant is permitted to continue working for the cab company, he must have no contact with the victim unless he's willing to apologize in writing. There is also a residency requirement keeping him in the NWT unless granted permission to leave.

He is not allowed to own firearms for five years, must abstain from alcohol and must submit a DNA sample to the court. He must also perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $50 fine.

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