Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 23/05) - The fate of a former Yellowknife man accused of stabbing a teenager in the neck last fall could be in the hands of an 11-person jury this morning.

Jamie Martens watched Monday as lawyers argued over the admissibility of evidence in his aggravated assault trial. The details of those arguments, which happened while the jurors were outside the courtroom, are subject to a publication ban.

Martens is accused of knifing a then 18-year-old in the neck during a brawl outside a Range Lake gas station on Sept. 30, 2004. The victim suffered a life-threatening wound, and had to be medevaced to Edmonton.

Martens claimed he was acting in self-defence. Martens has since moved to Vancouver.

Martens' lawyer described the 6'3", 200-pound victim as a bully. The pair had a run-in weeks earlier that ended with the victim and at least one other friend pummeling Martens in the back of a truck.

The defence rested its case Monday, after testimony from Martens and his girlfriend, who said she saw the victim lurking in their Vancouver backyard months after the stabbing.

The jurors heard closing arguments yesterday afternoon. Martens faces a maximum of 14 years in prison.