Erika Sherk
Northern News Services
Friday, March 9, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - An assault on a man outside the Northern Lights Motel on March 4 is under investigation, according to RCMP Const. Roxanne Dreilich.

The man, of unknown age, reported to have been punched by another man around 6:15 a.m. The victim told police his assailant then "took his gold and silver watch, his wallet, and his girlfriend."

Details are still a bit unclear at this point as to exactly what the man meant when he said his girlfriend had been taken, said Dreilich. Alcohol was involved, she said. However, RCMP said they are not investigating it as a kidnapping. "Not at this point," she said.

People in apartment held at knifepoint

A report of forcible confinement is under investigation after a man was reported to have held four people in an apartment at knifepoint.

Five people were drinking alcohol in an apartment March 2 when one of them, a 28-year-old man, became agitated, said Dreilich.

He took a kitchen knife, held it in the air, and stated he wasn't going to allow anyone to leave, she said.

"One person managed to get out," said Dreilich. They called RCMP, she said.

The man was convinced to drop the weapon by one of the people in the room, a relative, she said. "They managed to calm him down," she said.

It is under investigation "as to how much alcohol or consumption of drugs may have contributed to his actions," said Dreilich.

While the exact length of the confinement is not clear at this point, "it wasn't very long," she said.

Charges are pending for the man, said Dreilich, as statements need to be taken from all the people who were present.

Man found with slashed hands downtown

An Inuvik man was found with slashed, bleeding hands in the lobby of a downtown apartment building on March 3, said Dreilich.

A security guard from the apartment called it in to police, she said. He was taken to Stanton Territorial Hospital by ambulance.

"After medical attention, it was found that he had several slash wounds on his hands as well as puncture wounds," she said.

RCMP went to the hospital to speak to him but the man, 39, gave several different versions of what happened to him, she said.

"He was very intoxicated and gave conflicting information," she said.

Police believe the slashes may be defensive wounds from fending off a knife assault, said Dreilich.

Just give me the beer back, please

A 54-year-old man reported theft to RCMP when his beer was stolen by a group of four youth.

The man reported to RCMP that he was walking by the Reddi Mart on 50th Street when four young men, estimated to be between 16 and 20 years old, surrounded him.

There was no violence or threats made, said Dreilich. Instead they told him to give them the beer and when he didn't move they grabbed it and left.

Stolen was a six-pack of king-sized Canadian cans of beer, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter. The man doesn't want to press charges, said Dreilich, "He just wants his beer back."

Seventeen-year-old charged with trafficking, etc.

After a police search that turned up a "large quantity" of marijuana, $3,000 cash, and a small amount of cocaine, a 17-year-old Yellowknife boy has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of cocaine.

The RCMP searched a hotel suite the boy was renting at 7 a.m. on March 3, on a warrant.

The marijuana discovered has not been weighed yet, but it was a large amount divided into baggies in saleable amounts, said Dreilich.

A not-so-discreet theft

Several items, including a dishwasher, were stolen in Yellowknife late last month. In a break and enter on Feb. 26, a dishwasher was taken from a house. The building had been vandalized, said Dreilich. No charges have been laid as there are no suspects, she said.

The Frozen Rock Studio, located near the Racquet Club gym was also hit, but on Feb. 28. A 42-year-old man was charged with theft after he was discovered by RCMP in the studio around 5 a.m. He had two bags of carvings on his shoulders.

A neighbour had called the RCMP after they noticed a man moving around inside, said Dreilich.

RCMP are investigating if there is a connection between this theft and three carvings that were stolen from the same studio the first week of February, said Dreilich.