Yellowknife (Sep 15/06) - After less than three hours of deliberation, jurors found musher Sam Perrino not guilty of aggravated assault, Thursday, in connection with a stabbing at Perrino's home in June 2005.

The verdict ended a seven-day trial in NWT Supreme Court and was greeted with scattered applause and a cry of relief. Justice Virginia Schuler presided over the trial.

During his testimony, Perrino said he acted in self-defense when he stabbed the now 20-year-old Grant Pidborochynski.

"We're just relieved," said Perrino, hugging friends after an emotional embrace in the courtroom with his wife, Petra.

Pidborochynski, also surrounded by friends and family, left the courtroom almost immediately after the jury rendered its decision just before 3:30 p.m.

Visibly disappointed with the verdict, Pidborochynski declined to comment.

John MacFarlane, the Crown attorney prosecuting the case, said the jury was faced with a tough decision.

"The Crown felt it presented all the relevant evidence for the jury to consider," said MacFarlane.

The incident happened just outside Perrino's former home in the Kam Lake industrial park around 7 p.m. on June 19, 2005.

A group of young men were causing a disturbance outside Perrino's home when he yelled at them to stop and then came out and wrote down the men's licence plate numbers and returned to his home.

One of the young men drove his car up Perrino's driveway, got out and ran up the stairs while Perrino was on the phone with the RCMP.

It's disputed whether the man entered Perrino's home, but the two got into a fist fight where Perrino had the man in a headlock when Pidborochynski came to the aid of his friend and knocked Perrino off.

After that, Pidborochynski and Perrino began to fight.

The incident ended with Perrino stabbing Pidborochynski in the stomach with a knife he kept on his belt.

The single stab wound left Pidborochynski, then 19, fighting for his life in an Edmonton hospital.

Perrino's lawyer told jurors that the musher was left with no choice but to protect himself and his friends and family from harm.

"It is reasonable for (Perrino) to think he had no other option," said Kirk MacDonald in his closing arguments Wednesday afternoon.