SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 49-year-old Yellowknife man who asked the court for more time in jail than his lawyer recommended didn't get his wish as Judge Bernadette Schmaltz sentenced him to 16 months in jail Feb. 8.

Convicted of assault causing bodily harm, George Koe said he hoped to land in the prison system in Alberta, which he said has better programs than corrections in the NWT.

Instead, Schmaltz sentenced Koe to 18 months, minus three months credit for time served in jail awaiting the conclusion of his court case.

He received an additional 30 days for mischief. Koe pleaded guilty earlier in the day to both charges.

Crown prosecutor Janice Walsh told the court that on Nov. 6, 2010 at around 11:30 a.m., Koe and a woman, both homeless at the time, were drinking vodka in the alley behind the drop-in shelter on 51 Street. About a half-an-hour later, Koe accused the woman of sleeping with other men and punched her three times in the face, knocking her to the ground. The attack left her with a bruise on the left side of her face and a bruise on the back of her head.

Walsh said the woman, "mildly intoxicated" at the time, believes she was knocked unconscious for about five minutes. She filed a complaint at the Yellowknife RCMP detachment and was taken to Stanton Territorial Hospital. X-rays to her face and head did not reveal any broken bones, said Walsh. Shortly after the incident, Koe turned himself in at the RCMP station.

About two weeks earlier on Oct. 23, at around 11 a.m., Koe caused $1,360.11 in damage to a door at the Northern Lites Motel. Koe was drinking inside a room with some other people when they kicked him out. Koe came back moments later and booted the door four times, hard enough to damage the hinges, said Walsh. Koe, who was "highly intoxicated" at the time, fled the motel and was arrested and thrown in the drunk tank.

Walsh requested a jail term of 12 to 15 months without credit for time served for assault causing bodily harm and 30 days for mischief.

Schmaltz said she was surprised the Crown elected not to proceed by an indictable conviction, which offers harsher sentences, especially given Koe's criminal record of 16 previous convictions for violence.

Schmaltz told Koe if he didn't get his alcohol and anger issues under control, he's "going to kill someone."

"When you beat a woman, do you think she'll love you more?" asked Schmaltz. "That makes no sense."

Latimer had requested a sentence in the range of 12 to 15 months with credit for time served.

Besides the 16 month jail term, Schmaltz also gave Koe three years of probation, ordered him to provide a DNA sample to the RCMP and ordered him to pay restitution to the motel for the damage to the door.

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