SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Lloyd Thrasher, released last month despite numerous charges of failing to appear in court, is back in custody - one day after Yellowknifer published a story bearing allegations he had threatened to murder a deputy warden while in jail four days before a judge set him free.

The 28-year-old musician was arrested and charged Feb. 4 with assaulting a peace officer and two counts of uttering threats. An incident report delivered to Yellowknifer by Thrasher himself Feb. 1, contains statements from six staff members at North Slave Correctional Centre alleging Thrasher had flown into a rage on Jan. 25 after a deputy warden refused to move him to a different cell following a dispute with his cellmate.

One guard stated that Thrasher had angrily shouted at the deputy warden, "I'm going to murder you and cut off all your hands when I get out of here."

The report states Thrasher had to be tackled to the floor and placed in shackles before he was escorted to a segregation cell. The inmate was "internally charged" for the incident, according to the report, meaning his punishment was administered within the jail. The report doesn't state how long he spent in segregation.

Thrasher was granted release Jan. 29 by territorial court Judge Bernadette Schmaltz on a promise to appear for Feb. 11. Yellowknifer couldn't determine whether the judge or RCMP were aware of the jailhouse incident before he was released.

Thrasher faces several other charges dating back four years, including two counts of break and enter and seven counts of being unlawfully at large. He was arrested in October more than three years after a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear in court in July 2012.

Thrasher, who has released several musical recordings showcasing his talented guitar playing, gained notoriety in 2010 after he was charged with stabbing a dog to death he had stolen from a parked car.

He is scheduled to appear in Justice of the Peace court today where he is set to learn whether he will be released again, according to Crown prosecutor Trevor Johnson.

"What this hearing is about is whether he is going to be released," he said. "He ran his show-cause hearing on Tuesday, I believe, but he had an issue and had to have it adjourned."

Johnson said given Thrasher's past, the Crown is seeking to keep him in custody.

"We're looking to have him detained for as long as his matters are being dealt with," said Johnson, adding he can't speculate on how long that might be.

"I'm not seeing anything currently set for trial but that's partly because there's that period where he was not available."

The prosecutor said he couldn't speculate as to whether the Feb. 3 Yellowknifer story detailing the incident at the jail is what prompted police to arrest him the following day.

"I can't speculate as to what their motivation has been," he said.

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