Yellowknife (Dec 17/03) - A drunk Yellowknife teen who backed his van through a fence belonging to a federal crown prosecutor was sentenced to three weeks in jail and barred from driving for two years, Thursday.

"I'm sorry, it was an extremely stupid thing to do," said the 19-year-old, who was ordered to pay $300 to fix the fence.

"I'm just glad nobody got hurt."

At the time of the accident, the teen did not have a valid driver's license nor did the van have insurance or current registration.

According to a witness, the teen backed his blue minivan into the fence around 10 a.m. on Aug. 9.

Police later discovered the same teen had sideswiped another car earlier that day at a yard sale.

The teen pled guilty to driving while impaired, failing to provide a breath sample and driving without a license.

He also entered a guilty plea to failing to appear in court after missing an appearance on Nov. 28.

The teen's lawyer, Graham Watt, said his client works until 12 a.m. and simply overslept.

It was the third time the teen had been late for a court appearance.

Crown prosecutor Loretta Colton wasn't looking for jail time on the drunk driving charges, but judge Brian Bruser said they merited incarceration.

"Everybody in Yellowknife knows about yard sales (in the summer)," said Bruser.

"You could have easily killed someone. I don't see how I could fine you for the these two offenses."

The teen will be allowed to serve his sentence on weekends so he can keep his job at a local restaurant.