SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A nine-hour standoff at the Northern Lites motel late last year may have started because a man was distraught that iPads intended to be Christmas gifts for his children were stolen, according to the man's lawyer.

RCMP in tactical gear at the Northern Lites motel take David Brownlee into custody on Dec. 18, 2014. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo

Defense lawyer Tracy Bock said David Brownlee, 38, was upset over life events, including the stolen gifts for his daughters, when he called police Dec. 18 claiming to have a hostage at the motel.

Brownlee was sentenced to 10 months total in jail for charges of assault and public mischief related to the standoff and to an assault and breach of court order charges from a June 28 incident by territorial court Judge Bernadette Schmaltz on Friday.

Factoring in time he's already spent in custody, he received a total of 7.5 months in jail.

According to a statement of facts read July 16, Brownlee wanted to be killed by police that day and referred to the standoff in 2012 were RCMP officers shot and killed Karen Lander. He was only armed with a metal pipe, pulled from the motel room closet, that he wanted police to believe was a weapon.

The conclusion of the case brought the release of new details about the day's events.

It began 4:16 a.m. when Brownlee called the RCMP dispatch centre.

"I want some money, I have a hostage," he said before hanging up, according to the statement of facts. He called back several times saying police would have to find him and that he had a gun, a knife and a hostage. By the time the police found him, the hostage would be cut up and bleeding, Brownlee said during a call.

Police looked into whose phone was being used - it was borrowed - and eventually the Find my iPhone app was used to pinpoint Brownlee at the motel.

RCMP started watching the building and noticed two people go into Room 12, where Brownlee was. The two later told police they were looking for more alcohol. Inside, Brownlee told them they were now his hostages. One of the men tried to leave thinking he was joking, but Brownlee hit him on the arm with the pipe. The second man was grabbed by Brownlee and they wrestled. Both eventually were able to escape the room and told RCMP outside what happened and told them he didn't have a hostage.

A one-block section of 50 Street between 51 and 52 Avenue was closed by RCMP during the standoff and court was told a nearby school was placed on lockdown for a short time.

At about 7:27 a.m., the RCMP emergency response team arrived. Brownlee told police several times he wanted them to shoot him. When a police robot was deployed and broke a room window, Brownlee used the bar he was holding to strike the robot.

Just after noon, police used tear gas. Brownlee didn't leave but stuck his head out a broken window.

"I will make you shoot me," he said, according to the statement of facts.

After 1 p.m., tear gas was again used. He stuck his head out again and was pepper sprayed. The door to the room was opened, he dropped the pipe and was taken into custody by police.

"It was a very concerning incident for the community," and the RCMP officers involved, said Crown prosecutor Wendy Miller, who sought between 10 and 12 months total jail time for Brownlee.

"Certainly a lot of people weren't aware of what was going on, what the danger was," she said.

Miller said Brownlee was clearly at a high level of despair to take the actions he did and repeatedly say he wanted police to shoot him. Bock highlighted some of Brownlee's personal history, saying he spent time in foster care and was adopted at two years old.

There is some evidence his birth parents struggled with alcohol use and there's potentially undiagnosed fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Brownlee has drug and alcohol addictions he needs help with, the lawyer said.

He first went to rehab in Toronto at 17, but it wasn't effective.

Prior to the December standoff, he tried to get help in Grande Prairie, Alta., but was not a resident of the province so was told to try seeking treatment in the territory.

Bock told the judge that Brownlee co-operated with RCMP and pleaded guilty early, showing he is taking responsibility for his actions.

"I feel kind of silly for what happened," Brownlee said, apologizing for the impact the standoff had on people in the city.

After Brownlee was released from custody in February, he was placed on court conditions not to drink.

Police were called by a woman early June 28 who told them he was drinking and acting aggressive.

He was arrested for breaching the court conditions and taken to the a common holding cell known as the "drunk tank."

He told officers he wanted his own cell.

When put in the drunk tank, Brownlee starting punching another man.

"I told you I would get my own cell," he said when officers pulled him from the common holding cell.

It was "an unprovoked attack on an unsuspecting victim," Miller told the judge.

Schmaltz called Brownlee's actions that June morning "callous, cruel, heartless."

"You should be ashamed of yourself," she said, telling him that he needs to change the course of his life.

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