Threatening and hitting a cab driver has landed an Eden Valley man a nine-month prison sentence.

Elvis Clayton Dixon was sentenced last week for verbally and physically attacking an Associated Cab driver who picked up Dixon, his wife and daughter in Calgary and drove them to the Eden Valley reserve west of Longview.

The sentence was reduced by six weeks because Dixon was given double credit for the three weeks he had already spent in the Calgary Remand Centre.

The driver was given a $50 deposit when he picked up the trio, but the passengers refused to pay the rest of the fare and Dixon threatened the driver in order to continue the ride. According to the Crown prosecutor, Dixon told the driver he had a knife and a gun and said he would kill him as they approached Longview, to force him to continue to the reserve. He also punched the driver in the face.

The driver could not use his cell phone or contact his dispatcher because there is no signal near the reserve.

Dixon was also sentenced for two beatings on his former common-law wife.

He was represented by two lawyers, who said their client is typically mild-mannered, but admits to having a drinking problem that causes him to become violent. They said he completed a residential treatment program for alcoholism and recognizes he needs to stop drinking.

“There is a start here to breaking a cycle,” said defence lawyer John Andresen. “He is 39-years-old and he gets it.”

Dixon also has been accepted to upgrade his education at the reserve’s Bow Valley College campus, but that will have to be put on hold while he serves his time in jail.

Judge Eugene Creighton told Dixon his violence is troubling, noting his long record of violent offences.

“(Taxi drivers) are so vulnerable,” Creighton said. “You don’t need to threaten them.”

He added Dixon was likely much larger than his former wife and could have seriously injured her.

Creighton told Dixon he needed to stop his drinking and ordered him to abstain from alcohol during a one-year probation order that will follow his time in prison. He is to take any counseling recommended by his probation officer. Dixon will need his probation officer’s permission if he wants to contact his former common-law wife. He was ordered to give a sample of his DNA.

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