Yellowknife (Feb 11/05) - A man who decided to sleep off a night of drinking in his idling truck was barred from driving for 18 months Tuesday in territorial court.

Pierre Bonnetrouge, 35, was arrested in November of 2004 after a witness complained to police his truck had been idling outside of her house for nearly two hours.

Officers found Bonnetrouge asleep at the wheel and two other men slumbering in the cab.

A breathalyser test at 9:30 a.m. - more than an hour after Bonnetrouge was arrested - pegged his blood alcohol level at 0.23, nearly three times the legal limit for driving.

Defence attorney James Mahon said the crime would have been more serious had Bonnetrouge "actually (been) out manoeuvring around the street."

In addition to the 18-month driving ban, judge Bernadette Schmaltz fined Bonnetrouge $1,000.

"The vehicle could have easily been put in motion," she said.

"You are in no shape to make a judgment call when (your blood alcohol content) is three times the legal limit. You are lucky the circumstances were not worse."

No more mall for shoplifter

A Yellowknife man was banned from the Centre Square Mall for six months, Tuesday, after he admitted to shoplifting a T-shirt and two fleece vests.

Floyd Tetso was also fined $300 for the theft by judge Bernadette Schmaltz during a brief appearance in territorial court.

"He was caught essentially red-handed," Schmaltz said, noting security alarms went off as Tetso tried to leave the store.

Tetso had a long criminal record including a previous conviction for shoplifting in March 2002.

Under the terms of his six-month probation order, Tetso is not allowed to enter the mall. If he does, he could be charged with breach of a court order - a crime that could result in a maximum of two years in jail.

Back pain leads to jail time

A former drug user said Tuesday he was forced to buy a phoney prescription for oxycoset - a powerful pain killer - because doctors refused to prescribe him narcotics for a painful back condition.

"I was running into walls wherever I turned," said Dayl Hein. "I admit I was wrong, but I was driven by extreme pain."

Extensive record

Hein, who has an extensive criminal record that includes three drug trafficking convictions, was sentenced to four months in jail after pleading guilty to a single count of uttering a forged document.

The father of two said he bought a phoney prescription - written on letterhead from a medical clinic - last September for $20 in a downtown bar.

When he tried to fill the order, a pharmacist noticed a spelling mistake in the prescribing doctor's name. The amount of oxycoset - a highly addictive painkiller - was also higher than normal, said Crown attorney Sandra Aitken.

The pharmacist called police. When he was arrested, Hein admitted to buying the phoney prescription.

In court Tuesday, Hein said he was in near constant pain last fall - caused by a spinal cord injury he suffered years earlier.

"At the time of this offence, he did not have any option," said defence attorney James Mahon.

Judge Bernadette Schmaltz disagreed, however, telling Hein: "You should think long and hard about the sort of example you are setting for your children."