'Tlicho mafia' man gets nine months in jail
39-year-old convicted of threatening RCMP, mugging elder and other offences
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Monday, January 26, 2015
BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO
A Behchoko man who told police he is a member of the "Tlicho mafia," has been sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to threatening to kill an RCMP officer, mugging an elder, and theft.
Peter Martin, 39, pleaded guilty to all five charges against him Jan. 21.
Court heard that all the offences occurred in July and August of 2014. Crown prosecutor Angie Paquin told the court that Martin was arrested on Aug. 14 and charged with impaired driving after he was pulled over on Highway 3 between Yellowknife and Behchoko. He was stopped at about 8:30 p.m., en route to Behchoko, after a woman flagged down an RCMP vehicle to say the driver of a pick-up truck that had been driving behind her appeared to have been drinking.
Shortly thereafter, the RCMP officer noticed Martin driving a pick-up truck at about 115 kilometres an hour, 25 kilometres over the posted speed limit. The officer also noticed the truck veering across the centre line three times. As the officer activated his emergency lights, the driver of the truck initially increased his speed, but eventually slowed down and pulled over after an approximately half-kilometre pursuit.
"The officer noticed that Martin was unsteady on his feet and had a bottle of vodka tucked in his waistband," said Paquin. "There were four passengers in the truck."
After Martin was placed in handcuffs and told he was under arrest for impaired driving, Paquin told the court that Martin then went on a lengthy, profanity-laced tirade where he claimed he was a member of the "Tlicho mafia" and that he and his crew would kill the officer unless he was let out of the handcuffs. He was lodged in the RCMP cells and police said Martin was polite and quiet when released the next day.
A group of youths who identified themselves as the Tlicho mafia were blamed for a number of arsons and thefts in Behchoko about seven years ago.
Court heard that on Aug. 27 Martin attacked a 65-year-old man after he cashed his pension cheque, worth $585.00, at a store in Behchoko. Paquin told the court Martin followed the man as he left the store, pushed him to the ground, reached into his pocket and grabbed the cash. She said $150.00 fell on the ground but Martin got away with $435.00.
"He (Martin) targeted the victim. He knew exactly which pocket he'd put his money in," Paquin said.
Prior to those two crimes, on July 2, an heavily intoxicated Martin had to be removed from a residence in Behchoko. Paquin said RCMP found Martin passed out on a couch in the home of a man he had been ordered not to have any contact with. He had been convicted of physically assaulting that man back in February of 2012. Martin was convicted of breaching his probation for that incident. Paquin noted Martin's extensive criminal record, including convictions on six violent offences, the latest coming in 2013. She told the court that Martin had a previous conviction for impaired driving in 2009.
Bock said people who know Martin say he is a kind person when he is sober.
In handing down his sentence, judge Garth Malakoe said he took into account Martin's troubled past and that he did not want to "crush" him. But he said the offences had to be dealt with seriously.
"You breached your probation by being in the residence of a man you had assaulted," Malakoe said. "Your death threats to the officer who was just doing his job were graphic, explicit, hateful and prolonged and meant to invoke fear. You planned and targeted a 65-year-old victim in what amounted to a robbery. Jail has to be imposed."
Malakoe noted Martin's crimes were driven by alcohol. Malakoe gave Martin 135 days credit for the time he had already served. He prohibited him from driving for three years. Martin was ordered to give a sample of his DNA and must also stay at least 50 metres away from the man he robbed the money from. Martin will be placed on one year's probation after serving his jail sentence.
