SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife man has been given four months in jail for a string of charges from 2008, including two instances of impaired driving.

Andrew Lafferty, 29, pleaded guilty in territorial court on Friday to theft, assault, uttering threats, breach of an undertaking and driving while impaired related to three different incidents dating back to December 2008.

Lafferty was charged on Dec. 31 for impaired operation of a snowmobile. Police received a call at approximately 8:30 p.m. about a man who had flipped his snowmobile near the Dettah ice road. RCMP found Lafferty stumbling with a strong odour of liquor on him. Police arrested Lafferty and asked him if he understood his rights. Lafferty swore at the officer before spitting at him. Once inside the squad car unrestrained, he kicked at the door and a side window as well as the rear window.

Police stopped the vehicle on School Draw Road and handcuffed Lafferty before proceeding, and the suspect attempted to kick the arresting officer. At the detachment, Lafferty swung at an officer when his personal belongings were being taken.

Lafferty was released Jan. 1, 2009 on the promise to appear in court and to refrain from consuming alcohol.

On April 30, police were called to an area of Great Slave Lake to deal with an intoxicated man trying to get a snowmobile out of a snowbank. Lafferty was found at the scene trying to get the snowmobile out. He was arrested and Crown attorney Ellaree Metz said "he became resistant" once in the squad car. Officers recorded Lafferty in the vehicle, providing evidence that he threatened the officers and cursed at them.

On Dec. 13 Lafferty was arrested for shoplifting at the Yellowknife downtown liquor store. He attempted to walk out with a bottle of rum in his coat, but was caught by store staff. They asked him to come into their office where he was then restrained by two employees after an altercation with another female employee, hitting her in the chest with his elbow while attempting to leave.

Metz, who sought 15 to 19 months of jail for Lafferty, said his criminal record shows he has not changed and the rehabilitative sentences handed down before were unsuccessful.

Charges stemming from 2005 prompted Lafferty to state in a letter that he was going to change, but Metz said she doesn't know how he has changed until now. Defence lawyer Michael Gannon said a lot had changed for Lafferty and argued he should be given a conditional sentence, not a lengthy jail sentence.

Gannon said his client had offers for work and was serious about cleaning up his life. He was seeking entrance into an Aurora College program and a space in Bailey House, a home for men trying to straighten out their lives, said Gannon.

"He wants to move forward in building a healthy life for himself and his family," Gannon said, arguing jail should be a last resort in this case and it would only be a temporary solution to the problem. "Rehab is of great importance. Prisons aren't good at this."

Judge Robert Gorin decided on 120 days in jail.