Court Briefs
Man spared criminal record
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, April 17, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A former Inuvik resident will not have a criminal record after pleading guilty to dangerous driving in territorial court in Yellowknife.
The 30-year-old man was given a conditional discharge by territorial court judge Bernadette Schmaltz on April 10. Court heard the man was charged in Inuvik on Nov. 30 after he pushed a car from behind with his jeep some 100 metres down a road, into a stop sign and some trees.
There were three people in the vehicle, two men and a woman. None of them were seriously hurt. The car's hatchback door was dented and the back window smashed in the incident. The vehicle was written off at a value of about $3,500.
The offender was initially charged with assault with a weapon but that was later withdrawn. The man's defence lawyer Tracy Bock told the court that earlier that day his client had an altercation with another Inuvik resident, who was the driver of the vehicle he pushed.
Bock said the driver of the other vehicle followed his client home in his car and then parked in front of his jeep.
That's when, according to Bock, the offender used his jeep to push the man's vehicle from behind.
The offender apologized for his actions prior to being sentenced.
Schmaltz scolded the man, telling him he was fortunate no one was hurt in the incident, noting that it happened in the middle of the afternoon when streets are often busy with traffic and pedestrians.
Schmaltz sentenced the offender to a year's probation and gave him one year to pay the $3,000 as restitution for damaging the other man's vehicle.
Man waits to hear whether he'll be tried in Behchoko
A Behchoko man will have to wait to find out whether his sexual assault trial will be held in the community or moved to Yellowknife.
Marty Bouvier, 21, was charged on New Year's Day in 2016 with sexual assault on a minor and uttering threats. A publication ban prevents media from disclosing any information about the evidence that could lead to the identification of the victim.
Bouvier has elected to be tried in front of a judge and jury. He appeared in court on April 5 via video from the correctional centre in Fort Smith.
Supreme Court judge Shannon Smallwood said she had not yet decided whether to grant the change of venue application filed by Crown prosecutor Brendan Green.
RCMP explain arrest in Cholo homicide
The RCMP has explained why it issued a news release stating someone had been arrested in the 2014 Billy Cholo homicide in Fort Simpson only to later admit the man was released without charges.
News of the arrest April 6 led to speculation that police had finally solved the case. The man arrested and released was not named by police.
"The media release in this instance was put out after receiving media inquiries about the arrest. It is my understanding that certain media outlets had received information that an arrest had been made," RCMP Const. Matt Halstead stated in an e-mail to News/North. "In the interest of keeping everyone informed, a media release sent out confirming the arrest
