by Chris Meyers Almey
Northern News Services

NNSL (June 06/97) - The man a jury believed terrorized a woman for months has had another 30 months added to his prison term.

Michael Gabriel Jones pleaded guilty earlier this year to twice breaking into the woman's Yellowknife home and causing many thousands of dollars damage. He was sentenced then to 27 months in jail.

Jones fought the other two charges, denying he was the culprit. But a Supreme Court jury decided otherwise last month and his time behind bars was upped to a total of almost five years by Justice Ted Richard on Tuesday.

The sentencing hearing started Monday and ran for three and a half hours, with sobbing testimony given by Jones and his sister, a psychiatric nurse.

The sister said there has been a change in her brother since he "started being human again. He has started being more positive and you can see the progression."

The nurse said that for years Jones went out of his way for everybody if there was a problem or if someone was moving or if there was a crisis he was there.

"I will watch him like a hawk and ensure he goes to therapy."

But in telephone testimony from Edmonton, psychiatrist Harold Shane said the victim went through a very traumatic experience at the hands of a violent, rapacious terrorist.

Last summer RCMP warned the woman to get out of town, because her life was in danger.

Defence counsel James Brydon pointed out the woman had Jones charged with four counts of sexual assault but he was acquitted by a jury. "It takes two to tango," Brydon said. "It was an ugly, rocky, pathetic relationship."

Brydon handed tissues to Jones a few times to wipe away tears as the convict read a long letter directed at the victim. "I will never be a threat to you," Jones said.

Richard said he was satisfied that Jones has no intention of causing the victim physical harm and concluded the damage to the house was the result of a bitter breakup.

But Richard, who had originally sentenced Jones for the first two break-ins that occurred last May and June, noted that Jones was on bail and had promised to stay away from the house, yet he returned a third and fourth time in August to damage the house.

Richard said the damage was calculated to cause fear or to deliberately traumatize his victim or wreak havoc in her life financially and emotionally.

Richard said that Jones suffers from a serious emotional illness and should receive professional counselling while in jail.

Jones had been sentenced to 12 and 15 months for the first two break-ins and was sentenced to 15 months each for the third and fourth break-ins, each sentence to be served one after the other.

Jones was also ordered to pay the woman $14,475.88 compensation for the last two attacks on the house.