Yellowknife (Oct 20/06) - Lawrence Patrick Kennedy, 27, was charged late Wednesday afternoon with aggravated assault and possession of cocaine in connection with a lengthy standoff with police on Tuesday.

The man was arrested at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, nearly seven hours after the heavily armed police Emergency Response Team surrounded his Cinnamon Court home. The standoff resulted in nine neighbouring homes being evacuated and a wide area of Finlayson Drive being cordoned off by police.

Police were led to the home as they investigated a stabbing that occurred at about 9:30 a.m. that day.

Charges were filed after police were able to speak with the stabbing victim, who was still in hospital, said Const. Roxanne Dreilich Wednesday.

Police were also interviewing neighbours on Cinnamon Court for information on what happened Tuesday morning.

According to RCMP, around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the stabbing victim was discovered on the street in the residential neighbourhood.

"He was found wandering on Finlayson Drive seeking help," said Dreilich. "A person in a vehicle saw him, stopped and called police and ambulance."

Insp. Roch Fortin, Yellowknife detachment commander, said there were firearms registered to the residence and that the suspect had a previous conviction for possessing a firearm in a vehicle.

"That alone sets off alarm bells," said Fortin.

RCMP also had intelligence that the suspect had "a history of violent tendencies," said Const. Dreilich.

Police contacted the principals of NJ Macpherson, Ecole St. Joseph, and William McDonald schools and asked them to keep back students who lived in the affected area until their parents could pick them up.

A negotiator located at the RCMP detachment talked on the phone with the suspect in the house, and the man agreed to leave the building around 8 p.m.

"It's always safer to err on the side of caution," said Fortin. "The important thing is that everyone went home safely and nobody got hurt."