Yellowknife mayoral candidate Jerald Sibbeston claims shadowy forces are at work after threatening to shoot intruders following an alleged break-in at his home early Friday morning.
“The next unwanted guest had better kill me 'cause I will fire at them,” Sibbeston said in a Facebook post yesterday. “If they kill me, they will have killed a political candidate, and son of a prominent person. Not going to be able to sweep that under the rug. Better make sure you end me.”
Sibbeston, the self-described anti-corruption mayoral candidate and son of former premier and senator Nick Sibbeston, granted a sit-down interview with Yellowknifer on Saturday. The interview followed what he called a highly stressful 48 hours after two individuals trespassed onto his property at around 2 a.m. on Friday.
“I was in bed and on my back, when I heard the door of my house opening,” he said. “Nobody visits me in the daylight hours, never mind at 2 a.m.”
Sibbeston said he was home alone at the time. He wouldn't identify the neighbourhood where the incident took place. He described the incident as "property rape" although no physical damage to his property occurred.
Upon hearing the intruders, Sibbeston said he got out of bed and chased them across the street barefoot until the pain in his feet kept him from carrying on. He described the intruders as two white males dressed in black – one thin and one heavier. He said he is more confident of the description of the second, pudgier figure, who was a slower runner and who could be seen more clearly under a neighbourhood street light. He claims the man wore black slacks and a Gatsby hat.
The whole incident lasted no longer than a minute, he said, but he was left quite stressed and scared as a result. Sibbeston posted a 46-second video to his Facebook page shortly after the chase detailing his account of what happened.
“Yellowknife, it's an election, just stay off my property and stay away from me,” he said in the video.
He said he has added a night-vision hunting camera on his property to add to his security.
Sibbeston told Yellowknifer he reported the home invasion to police at about noon on Friday but said he has been told by the RCMP that they can't open an investigation because there was no physical evidence. He said they offered neighbourhood patrols until after the election.
Yellowknifer was unable to reach the RCMP on Saturday to confirm.
The alleged break-in adds to other setbacks Sibbeston suffered during his campaign, including a claim of vandalism to some of his signs and city orders to remove signs that violated height restrictions.
After the sign incident Sept. 29, Sibbeston accused city officials of unfairly targeting him after proposing the city disband its municipal enforcement division.
City officials insisted a supervisory constable contacted him about the signs after the city received a complaint from a member of the public.
Asked if the problems with his signs and the break-in were related, Sibbeston claimed it was possible.
“I think that it is not out of the question that these are linked events between the signs,” he said. "If you were to objectively look at it, you could come up with one or two things. One, that a person is stirring the pot for no reason, or that somebody is targeting me.
"I am unsure as to whether they are linked but I feel they may be."
Sibbeston was defensive when asked if he thought it wise to threaten to shoot anyone else who might intrude on his property with an election only days away. He said he has discussed his .22 rifle with police and said the gun was, and remains, safely stored. He also has a firearms licence with no prior criminal convictions.
"It is a 22. I don't give a (expletive)," he said. "Somebody threatened my life and crossed my air barrier."
Sibbeston said he has enjoyed meeting people while campaigning but added darkly that the city is not a good place to seek election.
"How I feel overall is that Yellowknife is one of the dirtiest places imaginable that you could run an election campaign," he said. "I've been threatened physically and that is pretty greasy. I think I may have scared powerful people by putting my name in the hat. And this is what you can expect if you want to go against the powers that be in the city. You can expect your life will be threatened ... Or that your signs will be smashed or that your home will be invaded."