SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 17-year-old male sat with his mother in court Tuesday as he was sentenced to eight months at a correctional facility for menacing a cab driver with a knife in an attempt to rob him.

Judge Bernadette Schmaltz described the crime as "an incredibly serious offence," and ordered the teen to serve an additional four months under supervision in the community following his jail time.

The youth, who pleaded guilty to robbery, cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The teen and an adult friend were drinking together on Oct. 20, 2009 in the friend's apartment, and the youth told his friend that he wanted to "jack someone," meaning to rob a driver.

The youth grabbed a knife from the kitchen and the two headed downstairs and hailed a cab.

In the backseat of the cab, the teen whispered to his friends that he was going to "jack" the cab driver and asked the driver to bring them to the parking lot by city hall. When they pulled in, the youth put his knife to the taxi driver's throat and demanded all of his money.

The cabbie started honking the horn and struggling with the youth for the knife, while the older friend hit the cab driver in the head. The driver wrestled the knife free from the teen, and the pair ran off.

Police arrived and found the cab driver with cuts on his hand from struggling with his knife-wielding assailant, and scratches on his chin from when he was held at knife-point.

The youth and the man were quickly found, according to Schmaltz, and the teen had the cab driver's blood on his hand.

The teen claims no memory of the incident.

"I know what I did was wrong. I didn't know what I was doing, I was drunk," the youth said.

Schmaltz reiterated the gravity of the offence.

"I'm not sure that you realize the seriousness of what you did," she said, adding that she's not convinced the boy has accepted full responsibility for the incident.

"You have to realize how you (behave) when you're drunk," said Schmaltz.

She described cab drivers as an especially vulnerable group, given that they work alone and often at night.

The court was unable to locate the victim. Schmaltz said it is assumed the cabbie no longer drives a taxi in Yellowknife.

Schmaltz said she wonders whether the victim is now "scared whenever a person gets in his cab - whether he still drives a cab."