SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A prisoner at North Slave Correctional Centre interrupted his lawyer Tuesday while strenuously objecting to charges that he had threatened and assaulted a deputy warden and other guards during an incident at the jail in January.

Lloyd Thrasher, 28, is charged with assault and two counts of uttering threats. He appeared in territorial court yesterday with an aim to set a trial date for the latest charges. He is facing numerous other charges dating back to 2012, including two counts of break-and-enter and several counts related to court order violations and being unlawfully at large.

The latest charges stem from an incident at jail on Jan. 25 where Thrasher was being held while awaiting bail on the charges from 2012. According to statements from corrections staff Thrasher himself hand-delivered to Yellowknifer following his release on Jan. 29, the prisoner had flown into a rage during a meeting with the deputy warden, screaming that he intended to murder him and "cut of all your hands when I get out of here."

Thrasher was "charged internally" after the incident and placed in segregation. He was re-arrested and criminally charged Feb. 4 - the day after Yellowknifer published a story about the Jan. 25 incident at the correctional centre.

As his lawyer Les Moore was addressing the court yesterday, Thrasher interrupted while standing in the prisoner's box, telling Judge Garth Malakoe the charges were baseless.

"I was charged with this new charges and I don't believe they're founded in reality," he said. "I'd like to have a trial."

Moore had just finished telling Malakoe that Legal Aid was seeking a new lawyer for him, stating he didn't realize Thrasher was facing new charges as he had just recently returned Yellowknife after being away from the city.

"The present charges will go to his new lawyer, whoever that will be," he said.

Over the glass of the prisoner's box, Thrasher told Malakoe he intended to represent himself.

He then began directly asking Crown prosecutor Jill Andrews if she had paperwork regarding the new charges in front of her but Malakoe cut him off.

"Please, address questions to me," the judge said.

Thrasher told the judge he intended to plead guilty to the 2012 charges so he can begin serving his time immediately. He said the prosecutor had told him the Crown was seeking a sentence of 10 months.

Malakoe declined to sentence him, saying he wanted Moore and the Crown lawyer to confer and see whether the offer was still on the table before handing

down punishment.

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