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Samurai swordsman's charges stayed
Lauren McKeon Northern News Services Published Friday, October 3, 2008
The accused appeared before territorial court on Tuesday facing that charge - which he pleaded guilty to before its dismissal - as well as two breach of probation charges and one for possession of a stolen bicycle. The man was tackled by an RCMP officer in Reddi-Mart after a witness reported seeing the man on the street with the sword. Prior to being apprehended the accused was at the magazine rack at the store, said Crown lawyer Shannon Smallwood, and the officer could see the hilt of the sword sticking out of his hand. "I have trouble understanding what the dangerous purpose is," said Judge Brian Bruser. "He had it," acknowledged Bruser. "He was looking at magazines." "I wasn't going to pull it out on anybody," the accused said. "I was trying to hide it the best I could." The accused said he had planned to take the sword home. "People may have been frightened by his possession of it," said Bruser, referring to Crown's submissions that he had been seen brandishing it on the street. "It doesn't mean he had dangerous purpose." RCMP Const. Kathy Law could not confirm whether the accused was the same samurai-wielding man that Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day saw during his ride-along with Yellowknife RCMP on the same day. The minister wrote about the incident on his website and in an article for his local paper. "I can't confirm it's the same person," said Law. The man's arrest is the only one relating to a samurai sword on file for that day, said Law, but Day "could have been driving around and seen someone else," she added. Despite having that charge stayed, the man was still sentenced to jail time for his other offences, which included possession of a stolen bicycle. He has 20 prior convictions, 14 of them property-type offences like break and entering. "One thing is obvious: your career in crime is not working well for you. I urge you to change careers," said Bruser. He received 120 days total, minus 20 days for time already served in custody.
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