SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A man who told the court he locked himself inside his truck out of fear of a man with a machete and then drove the vehicle only a few feet while intoxicated got little sympathy in territorial court March 31.

"Yellowknife is a small town. You're known to police. Don't drink and drive," said deputy judge Michel Bourassa after sentencing Chad Mikel Wood, 28, to one day in jail, a $1,200 fine and a 16-month driving ban.

The one-day jail sentence was fulfilled by Wood's court appearance. Crown prosecutor Blair MacPherson told the court the police were called to a disturbance between two motorists on Ptarmigan Road during the early morning hours on Feb. 28, 2010. When officers arrived, they saw a large pick-up truck with an elevated suspension beginning to pull away. The officers yelled and the truck driver pulled over. Wood, the driver, was arrested after failing a roadside intoxication screening test. The officers also noticed he had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.

Wood was taken back to the RCMP detachment where he registered a breathalyzer reading of 180 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, well above the 80 milligram legal limit for driving in the NWT. MacPherson did not disclose the second reading to the court.

Wood had a previous conviction for impaired driving in 2002 and a conviction for driving while disqualified a year later, said MacPherson, who requested a higher than normal fine of $2,000 and an 18-month driving ban.

Defence lawyer Jay Bran said his client, a Yellowknife resident since 1987, only drove the truck a few feet.

Wood told the judge he realized what he did was wrong, but added he was originally a passenger in the truck when his brother-in-law ran to get help after the driver of a silver vehicle stopped in front of his truck and pulled out a machete during the altercation. The driver of the silver car had become upset with the truck's headlights shining in his rear-view mirror, Wood said. He slid over to the driver's seat to lock the doors for his protection, and was only moving the truck to the side of the road when the RCMP stopped him, he told the court.

It wasn't revealed if any other charges were laid as a result of the altercation.

Bran recommended a fine of $1,500 and a 14-month driving ban.

Bourassa told the accused if he got caught drunk driving again, he could be facing a three-month jail sentence and be "in a heap of trouble."

Bourassa gave Wood two months to pay the fine.

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