SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A plea from a dying mother on April 5 persuaded Judge Garth Malakoe to shorten the sentence for a man convicted of obstructing justice.

Malakoe initially said Byron Naskathey would be going to jail until at least June but an emotional outburst from Naskathey's mother in the courtroom made the judge reconsider.

"June!" exclaimed the mother. "I've been given a month to live."

She then broke into tears.

Malakoe then imposed a sentence of one day in jail to be served at the end of a sentence that Naskathey, 19, was already serving on an unrelated matter. He is expected to remain in jail on that matter until mid-April. The judge also ordered him to serve 12 months of probation.

His conviction followed an incident on March 22, 2011, when Yellowknife RCMP received a call of a fight in progress at an apartment building on 53 Street at 12:30 a.m. As three officers entered the building, they met a woman and an intoxicated man leaving the apartment. Two of the officers went inside after hearing "screaming and yelling" to investigate the fight while the other officer questioned the couple, neither of whom had any identification, Crown prosecutor Glen Boyd told the judge.

When police asked, Naskathey paused before replying that his name was "Edward," and then said he couldn't remember his last name. He was asked to spell it, and replied "N-e-c."

Naskathey, born on April 14, 1992, also told the officer his birthday was June 5, 1992. He admitted he'd been drinking alcohol that night.

One of the other officers recognized Naskathey, who was arrested for giving false information. Naskathey made a feeble attempt to escape, only to be caught down the hallway by one of the officers.

In addition to obstructing justice, Naskathey broke previously agreed-to conditions to abstain from alcohol, abide by a curfew and stay in his residence most of the time.

He's been in jail since his arrest in March.

Boyd described Naskathey's behaviour as "immature and sophomoric" and his attempt to deceive and escape police custody as inconsistent with a "master criminal."

"He's old enough to know better," said Boyd, who asked for the 30-day jail sentence and a 12-month probation order.

Naskathey's lawyer, Jay Bran, requested a fine in the range of $300-$400.

For the first four months of the probation order, Malakoe ordered Naskathey to abstain from consuming or possessing alcohol or illegal drugs. Malakoe said, for such a young man, Naskathey had a "substantial" criminal record, with convictions for theft, break and entering and carrying a concealed weapon.

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