An Inuvik, N.W.T., man was found guilty Friday of using bear spray against people inside a home.

Jerry Rogers, 28, was convicted of three charges of assault with a weapon and one count of unlawfully being in someone's house.

Witnesses testified the accused came to a house in the community at midnight on Jan. 4 looking for a place to drink. They said that when he was turned away, he released bear spray into the room. The pepper spray hit the home owner and two visiting relatives, an older man and a young woman.

All three said they ran from house, blinded and in pain. The older man had to be taken to hospital.

Rogers testified he used the spray in self-defence after a scuffle on the porch with the home owner.

Halfway through the proceedings, Rogers fired his legal aid lawyer. The trial continued and Rogers cross-examined the people he had assaulted trying to find inconsistencies in their stories.

Sentencing has been scheduled for July 13.

The judge ordered a pre-sentencing report to learn more about Rogers.

But Rogers said he didn't want to waste the court’s time and wanted a sentence handed down immediately. He told the court that he was in foster care as a child and had a troubled youth and has been in and out of jail for the last 10 years.

He has more than 10 convictions for crimes of violence, including assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

"Just give me a number, I'll take it,” he said. “I'm institutionalized. This kind of stuff doesn't bother me. I keep doing these things. I don't see how I am going to change."

The judge said that with that kind of attitude, more acts of violence could result in his being declared a dangerous offender, which would mean he'd be thrown in prison for an indefinite period of time.