A man on parole for kidnapping two Alberta tourists from a Carmacks-area campground in 1996 is in trouble with the law again.

William Chad Ellis, 28, was in court last week facing a charge of assault. The charge was stayed after the complainant, Chris Sutherland, failed to show up to testify against Ellis.

In an appearance earlier this month, the court heard that Ellis struck Sutherland three times in the face on Nov. 11, 2004.

Sutherland had to pull a pocket knife to defend himself, it was said.

Ellis is also facing charges related to a dangerous car chase that occurred while he was on parole.

Whitehorse RCMP were investigating a series of August 2004 break-ins. An officer walked up to the suspect's vehicle, a Pontiac Grand Am, which was stopped behind another vehicle at the Alaska Highway-Centennial Street intersection, the court heard.

The officer saw the driver turn toward the passenger, who was slouched down and covering his face.

The passenger said something to the driver and the car bolted away.

The RCMP officer ran back to his car and turned down the Fish Lake Road when he couldn't see the car in front of him anymore on the highway, the RCMP told the Star.

A witness pointed police in the direction of the Copper Haul Road. Police vehicles drove up either ends of that road and blockaded it at the McLean Lake Road intersection.

The driver failed to stop for the officers and struck a police car in his haste to drive down McLean Lake Road toward the Alaska Highway. The damage to the police car was minimal, but RCMP Sgt. Roger Lockwood had to jump across the car to get out of the way.

The two men in the Grand Am eventually jumped out and made a run for it, leaving the car in gear. It ended up going over a small bank, while one suspect ran east and the other went west.

Ellis was charged with dangerous driving, possession of stolen property, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and fleeing police.

Inside the car, police found a laptop computer they believed was stolen.

Later that night, RCMP spotted who they believe to be the Grand Am's passenger getting into a vehicle in the McIntyre subdivision and subsequently charged him with breaking and entering.

Upon that arrest, the RCMP recovered another stolen laptop and $1 million in Indonesian currency, which converts into about $140 Cdn.

The second suspect, the driver, was never caught, but police later charged Ellis.

That matter will go to a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Ellis' lawyer, Elaine Cairns, told the court the case will likely centre around the police's ability to correctly identify the driver.

No publication ban has been put on this case. Publication bans are typical in matters going to preliminary hearings.

Days before the big car chase, Ellis had charges laid against him of aggravated assault.

It's alleged that Ellis had gotten in an argument with another man in the Kwanlin Dun First Nation village. The argument is believed to have ended with Ellis slashing the man's hand with a knife before spraying him with bear spray. Those charges were stayed late last year.

A female witness who reported the incident to police was beaten up by Ellis with a baseball bat to punish her for calling the police. Ellis was charged and convicted of that assault and was sentenced to four months in jail last November.

Ellis was at large for a number of months while under suspicion of committing several criminal acts. But last November, he was arrested by police at the Blue Moon Saloon after the police received a tip.

When police arrived, they found Ellis hiding under a vehicle, the court heard. When they asked him his name, Ellis told police several times that he was Warren Ellis before admitting he is William Ellis.

Ellis claims to have no recollection of this incident.

He was charged with obstructing justice after providing the false name.

Last Thursday, Ellis was found guilty of the charge and was sentenced to 15 days in jail. Having already spent several months in jail, it was determined Ellis' 15-day sentence has already been served.

At a bail hearing earlier this month, Ellis tried to get out of jail while waiting to deal with his other charges.

His plan was to stay at the Adult Resource Centre in Hillcrest, but justice of the peace Dean Cameron disapproved of the plan after it was heard that, in the past, Ellis has gone missing twice while staying at the ARC.

Cairns said Ellis has spent enough time in jail and is now willing to follow the rules.

But Cameron decided it would be best that Ellis stay behind bars until his legal matters are cleared up.

'Mr. Ellis has serious violent offences as an adult,' said Cameron. 'Ellis' inability to follow orders is obvious.'

Cameron questioned why Ellis consented to being jailed until a week before the Sutherland matter was to go to court. The JP said it raised a question as to whether Ellis is a flight risk.

Ellis is still in the Whitehorse Correctional Centre awaiting his other charges to be dealt with by the courts.

In 1996, a then-19-year-old Ellis and two other young men broke into the motor home of Marcel and Annette Trudeau in Carmacks' territorial campground and took the elderly couple captive.

The couple was blindfolded, bound with rope and gagged with socks inside the vehicle.

The kidnappers then drove the motor home from the Tatchun Creek Campground to a remote area off the Fish Lake Road in Whitehorse and abandoned the couple inside.

The Trudeaus were threatened and assaulted, but sustained no lasting physical injuries. Marcel was slapped across the face every time he tried to answer on Annette's behalf, the court heard back then.

The kidnappers stole $900 in cash, credit cards, jewelry and personal items.

The victims used their mobile phone to call for help. With a spare set of keys, they drove their vehicle to a less-isolated area along the Fish Lake Road and were rescued by RCMP.

It was estimated the entire incident lasted between five and six hours.

Ellis spent seven years in prison for his role in the kidnapping.