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Court Briefs
T-shirt delays man's case

Jessica Gray
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 04/06) - A man charged one count of possessing drugs was sent back into custody after territorial court judge Brian Bruser read the script on his shirt.

The man's shirt read, "When I snap, you'll be the first to go."

"I will not deal with that," Bruser said Tuesday. He rescheduled the man's court date to Wednesday morning.

One day in prison for joyriding

An 18-year-old man was sentenced to one day in custody and nine months of probation for joyriding.

The man, along with two others, was spotted breaking two windows of a parked car near the Ptarmigan Apartments around 1 a.m. March 24.

The men drove the car away, and were later caught by police. The total damage to the car was $990.

The man's guilty plea was a large factor in the short sentence, said Bruser.

But the judge told the man the conviction for his first offense as an adult should serve as a warning.

The man will not get off so easily next time, especially with a youth record that includes several convictions for damaging property, he said.

"Since at least 2002, you've had difficulty respecting the rights of other people's property."

The man was ordered to pay $330 in restitution for the damage to the car - a third of the total repair bill.

Defense lawyer Patrice Taylor attempted to argue that her client should not pay the amount because another passenger in the car was responsible for breaking the windows.

Bruser responded that the man, along with two others, "acted together."

The man will be in court again for a charge of possessing marijuana.

One of the two men involved in the joyride was also sentenced to 30 days in custody, six months probation, and ordered to pay $330 for the car's repair.

The third man is currently at large.

A man waits for trial in French

A man charged with one count of impaired driving and one count of failing to comply with the demands of a peace officer will wait until Oct. 20 to have his trial in French.

The man will be tried in territorial court with a French-speaking judge.

Defense lawyer Kelly Payne told Bruser the trial would take approximately three days.

Bruser said the trial would have to go ahead on Oct. 20 and then continue in Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2007 - when the same judge was back in Yellowknife.