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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife man may be just charges away from being labelled a dangerous offender, Judge Bernadette Schmaltz has warned.

Timothy Allen, 46, appeared before court Sept. 5 with 12 violent offences already under his belt. Eventually, said Schmaltz, Crown prosecutors will ask, "Can we stop him?" If the answer is no, she added, "the Crown has a duty to the public - if you can't be stopped from being violent - to protect the public."

"Look at your criminal record ... sooner or later the Crown will bring a dangerous offender application," she said.

If that were to happen - and Allen were named a dangerous offender - he would be kept in jail until it was deemed safe to allow him back among the public.

Last Friday, Allen faced sentencing for several charges, some of which were withdrawn. He pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, uttering death threats, breach of probation and failing to take a breathalyzer test when pulled over by police.

During a reading of the facts, Allen appeared to grow increasingly agitated as his lawyer Peter Fuglsang continued to state guilty pleas.

After Schmaltz called a brief break, Allen returned and seemed calmer as the details of the charges against him were described before court.

The most serious of those charges, said Schmaltz, was the assault, which occurred on July 18. At that time, the accused got into an altercation with another man, who had seen Allen with a woman and had assumed Allen's company was unwelcome.

The other man confronted Allen and a fight took place. However, after the fight broke up and the other man began walking away, Allen continued to follow the man. A second confrontation occurred and the other man was stabbed. The wound did not require stitches.

"Luck interfered," said Crown lawyer Glen Boyd. "It could have been a lot more serious."

Schmaltz agreed, noting that "nobody wants to live in a community where strangers start pulling knives on each other."

She sentenced Allen to 10 months total in jail - less three months credit for time already served in custody - and advised the man to shape up.

"You've got half a life left to live, you don't want to be doing it in jail," she said.

When asked if he would like to say anything before the court, Allen responded that he'd like to keep his identity out of the newspapers in order to protect his kids, especially now that they're old enough to understand the charges.

Schmaltz responded that while she understood his concerns, she couldn't grant his request. She later added, "All their lives, your children have been at an age where you set an example for them."