One of two women who terrorized an elderly couple on their doorstep early in the morning was sentenced to time served.
In Inuvik Territorial Court Nov. 3, the woman, who will not be named as this is her first conviction, pleaded guilty to assault, unlawfully being in a dwelling and failure to comply with a recognizance. Judge Robert Gorin sentenced her to 22 days in prison, which with 15 days in pre-trial custody amounts to time served.
"I would just like to say, since that incident I changed a lot," said the woman in her defence. "I would just like to say sorry."
Crown prosecutor Andreas Kuntz told court the woman had gone with a second woman to loan a guitar to an elderly couple on May 7. During the visit, at around 2:30 a.m. for reasons that were not disclosed in court the couple ask the pair to leave, at which point the defendant grabbed one of them by the hair. She and her co-accused were pushed out of the house by the elderly couple, who had to hold the door shut while the defendant and her co-accused kicked at the doorway, eventually knocking it off its hinges.
The pair also threw several objects at the elderly couple's house. Eventually, a neighbour saw the commotion and called the police. Police arrived and arrested the woman and her co-accused. She was charged and released on an undertaking.
"This is an incident that occurred well into the night," said Kuntz. "What ensued was a protracted struggle."
Then, on July 5 the woman was arrested again on an unrelated matter and released on a curfew. Twelve days later, on July 17, police received a complaint from the defendant's mother that she was not at her home at 11:30 p.m. Police confirmed she was not at home when legally bound to be. They arrested her the next day.
Duty counsel Baljindar Rattan said the woman was being negatively influenced by her co-accused.
"It's unfortunate matters went the way they did," she said. "At the time of the offence, she was involved in drinking, which has since been curtailed."
Judge Gorin rejected a joint submission calling for a conditional sentence and sentenced her to time served, meaning she will now have a criminal record.
"I think we're all in agreement the offense that was committed was frightening," he said. "I must say it was a ridiculous response. Really, you should count yourself lucky.
"When people choose to do these things, whether there is an influence from others or not, they have to understand there are consequences."