SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife-area man with more than 100 convictions on his criminal record, many of them for alcohol-fueled spates of vandalism and mischief, was sentenced to nearly seven months in jail Friday for smashing two windows last year.

Garry Yelle, a once-promising illustrator and cartoonist, received the seven-month sentence minus two days after pleading guilty to breaking a window at the downtown Reddi-Mart in September and smashing another window at a different building in June.

Crown prosecutor Marc Lecorre said the numerous convictions on Yelle's criminal record include 17 for mischief. Yelle shows "no interest in treatment" for the alcohol addiction which fuels his behaviour, he said.

Previous probation orders have not deterred Yelle from breaking the law, said Lecorre.

"We're past probation," he said, adding Yelle showed up late for his court appearance April 4 in a drunken state.

"Coming to court not only late but intoxicated. He has no interest in treatment, he doesn't want to make the effort."

Territorial court judge Robert Gorin said Yelle may have showed up drunk because he is an addict.

"He's so addicted he can't stay away from it," he said.

On Sept. 30, police responded to a complaint from a worker at Reddi-Mart after Yelle threw a rock through the shop's window. Lecorre said surveillance video obtained from Reddi-Mart security cameras show Yelle breaking the glass and then returning moments later to break it some more. He said the damages set the shop back $864.

Earlier in June, Yelle had an altercation with a security guard at another building, which resulted in another smashed window. Lecorre did not name which building was damaged but said Yelle threw a rock in the direction of the security guard. Yelle was not attempting to hit the security guard, said Lecorre, but the rock smashed a window on a door, costing $891 to repair.

Defence lawyer Jay Bran said Yelle was the victim of a traumatizing experience when he was five years old. He did not elaborate on what happened but said Yelle turned to alcohol to cope with the trauma.

Yelle is trying to "drown those sorrows or try to forget those memories," said Bran.

"I'm not surprised a bit that he turned to substances to cope," said Bran, adding that Yelle doesn't partake in any narcotics other than alcohol.

Gorin said there is no question that Yelle's past fuels his addiction, while also noting the trauma experienced by survivors of residential schools and their descendants.

"No doubt, it's what's behind your addiction to alcohol," he said. "These problems are all too common and are a result of Canada's shameful past."

Gorin said Yelle's experiences "decrease his morale blameworthiness" but the fact that he has such a lengthy rap sheet increases it.

Gorin credited Yelle with two days off his sentence for a night spent in RCMP cells after showing up drunk for court. He sentenced him to four months for the June incident, three months for breaking the Reddi-Mart window, subtracting the two days served in RCMP cells, and ordered him to pay $300 in victim surcharges 60 days after his release.

Gorin ordered a stand-alone restitution order for the damages to the windows. He did not put a due date on the restitution order - in the amount of $891 and $864 respectively - but said the Crown may act on it whenever Yelle gets his life back in order.

Yelle also pleaded guilty to charges of breaching a previous probation order to abstain from consuming alcohol. Gorin sentenced Yelle to serve one day for the breach, concurrently with his seven-month sentence, "because I think there was very little chance of you obeying that order."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.