by Glenn Taylor
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Aug 22/97) - An Inuvik man, infuriated by a judge's order awarding a house to his wife, told police he'd rather see the house destroyed than give it to her. And that's exactly what police say he decided to do.

On Aug. 1, police say Victor Sobotier borrowed a front-end loader from a friend, and then proceeded to inflict as much damage on the house as he could with the 25-tonne machine.

Earlier in the day, a man arrived at the 33 Ruyant Cres. house in a cube van. With nobody living in the residence at the time, he reportedly drove over the picket fence surrounding the property and proceeded to drill a hole in the side of the house.

Police say he then smashed the living room window and strung a cable through the drilled hole and the window frame. Attaching the van to the cable, he then tried to wrench the house from its foundations.

After several failed attempts, the cable broke, and the man apparently decided he needed sturdier equipment. Police say he borrowed a front-end loader from a friend, and returned to the scene. The same cable strategy yielded much better success this time, and police say the house is now uninhabitable.

The corner of the building attached to the cable is now partially torn from the house, and one can clearly see into the living room. It is possible the house may have been shifted off its foundations, and police believe for various reasons the house is not safe to live in.

Tread marks from the massive diesel loader run like scars across the front lawn. Wooden steps running into the building are crushed into matchsticks. A wooden canoe resting at the side of the building was also partially flattened into the dirt.

Months earlier, according to RCMP Cpl. Sean Neary, the residence was awarded to Sobotier's wife during divorce proceedings.

Earlier this month, police got a call from the woman complaining that she had been assaulted.

While Sobotier was at the station being questioned, another call came in about the damage to the house. When police drove Sobotier to the residence, he allegedly confessed to the damage, saying he'd "rather go to jail than see his ex live in the house," said Neary.

"He felt it was his."

The 52-year-old man has been charged with mischief over $5,000, and is to appear in court in Inuvik on Monday at 9:30 a.m. He also faces assault charges.

In the meantime, Sobotier is being held by RCMP at Inuvik cells because Neary said police consider him a risk to his wife, and a possible flight risk.

Police received approval from the justice of the peace to hold him in custody until his trial.