A chronic alcoholic paid "a dear price" for resisting a Merritt RCMP officer's attempt to take him into custody, a defence lawyer told a judge Tuesday. James Isaac, 47, was arrested around 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 for being intoxicated in public after he showed up in the lobby of the Merritt probation office for an appointment too drunk to stand. When Const. Justin Mosher arrived, however, Isaac was on his feet, although he was shaky, stumbling and slurring his speech, prosecutor Will Burrows told a Kamloops provincial court judge. The Crown lawyer said when told he was under arrest, Isaac pulled his arm away from the officer and clenched his fists aggressively.