Posted: Feb 26, 2021 5:00 AM CT | Last Updated: February 26
The Yellowknife courthouse. Justice Charbonneau has acknowledged that the five-year sentence was on the very very low end. She later said she is bound by a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that requires Judges to follow the joint submission, unless it seriously impedes the administration of justice. (Walter Strong/CBC)
Justice Louise Charbonneau sentenced Tariq St Croix Thursday to five years in jail and three years probation for brutally stabbing his ex-wife on New Year s Eve two years ago.
St Croix pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and aggravated assault in N.W.T. Supreme Court. The Crown prosecutor and defence lawyers jointly recommended a five-year sentence.
Death result of a sudden reaction, defence argues
In court, Harte argued that the level of Beck s intoxication meant he was not of sound mind, and argued that Sayine had provoked Beck.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Sayine had attacked Beck numerous times that day, resulting in a gash above his eyebrows in addition to bruises on his face.
The pair had a history of violence. They d known each other their entire lives, Beck testified in court on Feb. 17.
He said they had even been best friends at one point, but that relationship soured after an altercation between the two when Sayine stole alcohol from Beck s grandmother. Beck ran after Sayine to retrieve what was stolen, but they fought instead.
Posted: Dec 23, 2020 7:00 AM CT | Last Updated: December 23, 2020
Justice Donovan Molloy dismissed dozens of charges in November after a Crown prosecutor missed her flight to Hay River. (Emily Blake/CBC)
Dozens of charges thrown out by a Hay River judge last month could be getting a second chance in court.
Blair MacPherson, general counsel with the Yellowknife office of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, said the Crown has filed appeals with the N.W.T. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal for some, not all, of the cases dismissed on Nov 9.
On that day, Justice Donovan Molloy dismissed 53 charges against 14 people on the docket for want of prosecution, because a Crown prosecutor missed her flight.
Posted: Dec 18, 2020 6:00 AM CT | Last Updated: December 18, 2020
The prosecutor argued the publication ban was necessary to protect the fair trial rights of Devon Larabie, the man accused of murdering 22-year-old Breanna Menacho. The judge wrote the prosecutor failed to show the publication ban was necessary.(Walter Strong/CBC)
Warning: this story contains a graphic description of violence.
The N.W.T. Supreme Court has turned down the Crown prosecutor s request for a publication ban on details of the death of a 22-year-old woman in Yellowknife last spring.
The details emerged earlier this month during the sentencing of Jordan Nande and Lisa Brulé, both of whom pleaded guilty to being accessories after the fact in the murder of Breanna Menacho.