SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife man who tried to hit a hotel security guard in the head with a lamp and then threatened to kill him was sentenced to two months in jail in territorial court by Judge Garth Malakoe on Jan. 18.

"I'm sorry for doing all this - almost hitting a guy and threatening to kill him," said Denecho Noel King. "I was drunk at the time."

Crown prosecutor Marc Lecorre told the court that on Jan. 16, 2011, at a downtown hotel, the security guard received a complaint from a woman about a man not registered at the hotel staying in one of the rooms. The woman had been drinking in the room with King and another man, but forgot her belongings in the room. When she called the room to retrieve them, King hung up the phone.

The security guard went to the room and found King and another man passed out. The guard woke up King and told him to leave. King became angry, grabbed a lamp and swung it at the guard's head, but missed. He then tried punching the guard but missed again. After failing both times to strike the guard, King said "he was going to kill him when he gets out of jail" or "send somebody to kill him," Lecorre said.

King, 18, was originally charged with assault with a weapon, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault. He also pleaded guilty to uttering death threats.

Lecorre said even though King did not "connect" with the guard with either the lamp or his fist, under the law King was still criminally liable for assault. Given the seriousness of the offences, Lecorre asked the court for a four-month jail term and probation for one year after King's release.

Defence lawyer Nikolaus Homberg said his client is a young man with "a lot of things going for him." Even though he only has a Grade 10 education, Homberg said King is interested in continuing his education by taking an underground mine training course.

Homberg acknowledged that jail was likely going to be part of his client's sentence, and asked for a lesser term of 45 days for both offences.

Malakoe said people that work in professions like security should not be subjected to drunken attempts of assault and threats. Besides the two-month jail term, King also received a five-year firearms prohibition and one year of probation. The conditions include he receive alcohol and anger management counselling, have no contact with the security guards and stay at least 10 metres at all time from the hotel.

After the sentence, King's mother hugged him before he was led off to jail.

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