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Musher charge reduced

Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 24/05) - The charge of attempted murder filed against a prominent dog musher has been reduced to aggravated assault.

Sam Perrino, 29, was in court Wednesday for a bail hearing when the Crown attorney reduced the charge. Perrino has been in police custody since his arrest Sunday in connection with the stabbing of a 19-year-old man near his Kam Lake residence.

According to police, the stabbing came during an altercation between Perrino and several young men.

About 25 people packed into the courtroom for the hearing, many of them Perrino's friends and family. Security was extremely tight for the 15-minute hearing. Sheriffs checked the bags of everyone entering the room. Three RCMP officers watched over Perrino and the standing-room-only crowd.

One of the teenagers who witnessed the stabbing was also there and shook his head when Perrino was released on a $1,000 bond. Outside the courtroom, the teen's mother called the release "appalling."

Fighting for his life

"A young man is still fighting for his life as we speak," she said. "Why should he (Perrino) be allowed to walk around?"

The man who was stabbed is now listed in stable condition at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. He was moved out of the intensive care unit there on Wednesday, said RCMP Sgt. Darcy Fleury.

Prosecutor Janice Walsh said her office decided to replace the attempted murder charge after reviewing the case. "We came to the conclusion that the charge would have to be withdrawn and a new charge laid," she said.

As conditions of release, Perrino was ordered to avoid contact with the teenagers and barred from leaving the Northwest Territories except for work.

Perrino left the courthouse through a back door following the hearing - avoiding a throng of media. He is one of the premier mushers in the NWT and has participated in some of the most challenging dogsled races in the world, including finishing 36th in the 2004 Alaska Iditarod, and competing in the Yukon Quest.

Owns a kennel

A part-time electrician, Perrino owns a kennel with several dozen dogs. Police cordoned off the area around his house earlier this week as forensic experts and investigators with the major crimes unit pored over the property.

Perrino did not return a phone message seeking comment. He is scheduled to appear in territorial court again on July 26.