Man pleads guilty to some charges in a 2024 Yellowknife standoff incident

A man at the centre of a 2024 standoff with police at a Yellowknife downtown apartment pleaded guilty in N.W.T. Territorial Court on Wednesday to some of the charges he was facing.

Donovan McNeely, 26, pleaded guilty to two charges: uttering threats and breaching a no-contact order. In court, the Crown withdrew some additional charges.

At the time, police described the incident as "an armed and barricaded situation." The standoff happened at Franklin House apartments in February 2024.

Police say they received calls about a man threatening people with a knife. They responded with an emergency response team and crisis negotiators.

In court, the judge heard that Donovan McNeely threatened two people in the hallway of the apartment building, saying to them, "You want to choke in your own blood." McNeely, who was present in court at the time of the hearing, denied that he was brandishing a knife during the incident.

He admitted to breaching a court order not to have contact with his brother, Dean McNeely, who was also at the apartment building. At the time, Dean had recently finished serving a three-year sentence for manslaughter.

Donovan was sentenced to 45 days in jail, which amounts to time already served. He was also sentenced to one year of probation.

Donovan's defence lawyer told the court that he has had recent problems with alcohol and drugs following his father's suicide, and that he is taking responsibility for his actions.

Judge R.D. Gorin said that, given the guilty plea and Donovan's lack of a criminal record, it was "certainly reasonable" to accept the Crown and defence submissions. Gorin also told Donovan to keep good behaviour and stay out of further trouble.

Donovan still has other legal matters ahead. He faces several charges, including assault and possession of proceeds of crime, from an incident the day before the standoff in 2024.

The court also heard details from that case, in which Donovan allegedly hit someone with a hammer while in a stolen vehicle in a Yellowknife parking lot. The victim later went to the hospital. Dean McNeely is also facing charges, including assault, in that case.

That trial for both Donovan and Dean McNeely is set to begin on June 17.