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BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO
A Behchoko man avoided jail time for slamming an ATV into an RCMP pickup truck while trying to escape police.

Adam Mackenzie-Zoe, 27, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, mischief and fleeing the scene of an accident last week in Yellowknife territorial court.

On June 23, the RCMP was called to a house in Behchoko around 7 a.m. The officer pulled the detachment's F-150 pickup into the driveway of the house, effectively blocking escape for any vehicle parked there. The police were responding to a complaint at the residence that did not involve Mackenzie-Zoe.

Nonetheless, when RCMP arrived, Mackenzie-Zoe hopped onto an ATV and slammed it into the police vehicle. The officer inside got out of the vehicle and attempted to arrest Mackenzie-Zoe, pepper-spraying him.

Mackenzie-Zoe made his getaway, reversing the ATV and fleeing. He was arrested shortly after.

RCMP recently repaired the damage to the vehicle at a cost of $2,796.

Judge Bernadette Schmaltz sentenced Mackenzie-Zoe on Sept. 23. She had attempted to do so earlier, on Sept. 12, but Mackenzie-Zoe was too intoxicated to stand trial that day.

"His record suggests he doesn't have respect for authority," said Crown prosecutor Alison Duckett.

Duckett had asked the judge to sentence Mackenzie-Zoe to 60 days in jail. Jay Bran, his defence lawyer, requested his client be given house arrest for 30 days and community service.

"I'm going to approach this in a different way," Schmaltz said.

She felt house arrest and jail time wouldn't do Mackenzie-Zoe any good. Schmaltz gave Mackenzie-Zoe one day in jail for resisting arrest and mischief, to be served by his appearance in court. She also fined him $600 for fleeing the scene of an accident and gave him a two-year driving prohibition.

Mackenzie-Zoe was also given two years probation, during which time he needs to pay the RCMP back the $2,796 of damage he caused.

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