Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 05/05) - A Dettah man caught drunk driving twice within seven weeks - including once where his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit - has been sentenced to 30 days behind bars.

Frederick Drygeese pleaded guilty Tuesday in territorial court to a pair of drunk-driving related charges and uttering death threats.

"His readings...were incredibly high," said Crown attorney Shelly Tkatch. "He posed a distinct danger to the public."

Police arrested Drygeese for the first time on June 4 after they spotted him weaving along the Ingraham Trail, north of Yellowknife.

As the 43-year-old heavy equipment operator approached the downtown core, he crossed the centre line, repeatedly slammed on his breaks and narrowly avoided crashing into a road-sign. When police ordered Drygeese out of his Ford F-150 pickup truck, his eyes were bloodshot, he reeked of alcohol and he had trouble standing upright. A breathalyser test at the RCMP detachment pegged his blood alcohol level at .250 - more than three times the legal limit for driving.

Officers later discovered Drygeese had just come from Dettah where he threatened to kill a neighbour.

"He was well out of the common sense range," said defence lawyer James Brydon.

"It is always stupid to say something like that and drive," Drygeese told the court.

'Stupid' behaviour

"I have to agree with your comment (that your) behaviour was stupid," said territorial court Chief Judge Brian Bruser at the time.

About seven weeks later, police stopped Drygeese in Ndilo. He smelled of alcohol but was able to walk without a problem, Tkatch said. When police searched his truck, they discovered a bottle of apple juice. An officer opened the bottle and realized it was actually hard liquor. Drygeese was arrested a second time and taken to the police detachment, where he took another breath test. His blood alcohol level registered at .130, Tkatch said.

In addition to the 30-day jail sentence, Bruser barred Drygeese from driving for two years and levied a several hundred dollar fine.

Drygeese, who spends his spare time teaching traditional activities to children in Dettah and Ndilo, was previously convicted of impaired driving in 1998. He has been looking for help with his alcohol problem, Brydon said.