Court Briefs
Man in hospital rampage pleads guilty
Taylor Nataway yet to be sentenced for causing mischief under $5,000
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The man who went on a violent rampage at Stanton Territorial Hospital last fall, triggering a call from staff for greater security, pleaded guilty in territorial court on Thursday.
Taylor Nataway, 24, pleaded guilty to causing mischief under $5,000 for the Nov. 28 incident. He has yet to be sentenced on that charge and he remains before the court on several other offences. Nataway remains in custody.
In court, his lawyer Tu Pham asked Judge Bernadette Schmaltz to allow Nataway to be let out of the prisoner's enclosure so that he could sit beside him for the proceedings.
The RCMP officer on duty that day told the judge that Nataway has a history of violence, indicating he had some concerns. But the officer told the judge that Nataway had earlier agreed to behave.
He was eventually allowed to sit with Pham for the hearing. Nataway was also charged on Nov. 25 with uttering a death threat and again Nov. 28 with possession of a dangerous weapon, a knife. He has yet to enter pleas on those charges.
Nataway was further charged on Feb. 9 of this year with mischief under $5,000 for allegedly breaking a glass door at the Jan Stirling Building downtown.
He was again charged with assault with a weapon on Feb. 28 after he allegedly threw a cup of coffee in the face of a social worker at Centre Square Mall.
Nataway has pleaded not guilty to both of those charges. The incident at the hospital back in November was the first of two violent occurrences that highlighted security deficiencies at the facility.
Hospital staff complained that they were forced to deal with violent patients because security guards were not allowed to physically restrain them. Nurses retreated to a locked room after they couldn't stop Nataway from smashing equipment in the emergency room.
Nataway is scheduled to be back in court on March 24 to set a trial date on the other charges.
Bobby Zoe in court
A man charged with two break-and-enters and sexual assaults last month made a brief court appearance on Tuesday. Repeat sex offender Bobby Zoe, 34, remained in the prisoner's box for the hearing.
He reserved his right to a bail hearing and consented to his continued detention at the North Slave Correctional Centre. Maren Zimmer, the Crown prosecutor in the case, told Judge Christine Gagnon there is still evidence on the charges that has yet to be fully reviewed, including audio statements. Defence lawyer Paul Falvo told the court that Zoe has consented to his detention for the time being.
"Mr. Zoe would like to see the proceedings progress as soon as possible," Falvo said.
Zoe was on probation at the time of his latest alleged offences.
He was previously convicted of a violent sex assault on a woman walking by herself downtown in 2011. He is to make his next court appearance on April 14.
Outfitter tells court charge should be dropped
A Yellowknife outfitter requested in NWT territorial court Tuesday that Wildlife Act business regulation charges against his company be thrown out immediately.
Gary Jaeb and True North Safaris were charged with operating a wildlife business outside its permitted zone. Jaeb, who represented himself, told Judge Christine Gagnon that the charges were wasting the court's time and should be dropped because he is also licenced as a tourism operator which he argued does allow him to work outside the permitted zone. Gagnon said she is not in a position to honour Jaeb's request.
Roger Shepard, the Crown prosecutor in the case, told Gagnon that a trial would likely last between four and five hours.
"There are two witnesses who live in the U.S. and another who works at the mines," Shepard told the judge.
He said a trial date would have to accommodate the attendance of those prosecution witnesses.
David Lafferty, a guide for True North Safaris, faces a similar charge.
Both men have pleaded not guilty and will be back in court on March 24. A trial date may be set at that time.
Jaeb was at the centre of controversy last year when a video of him being thrown to the ground by a municipal enforcement officer went viral on social media. Jaeb was arrested after not immediately providing his identification to the officer who had stopped him for not wearing a seatbelt.
Ex-Legion employees in court
Two women charged with the theft after money and alcohol totalling more than $60,000 went missing from the Yellowknife Legion made a brief court appearance on Tuesday. Mary Charles, 42, was a full-time employee at the Legion while Hellen Leaman, 49, was a part-time bartender. They were charged in early February but have yet to enter pleas.
Crown prosecutor Maren Zimmer asked Judge Christine Gagnon for a one-month adjournment, saying that more time was needed to review extensive evidence on the case.
"There are five days of video surveillance tapes that still need to be reviewed," Zimmer said.
Leaman is represented by lawyer Charles Davison while Jay Bran is the defence lawyer for Charles. The two women are expected to be prosecuted together. They are both to be back in court on April 14.
