The sentencing hearing for Mark McDiarmid began without him this morning in Yukon Supreme Court.

McDiarmid refused to leave his cell at the Whitehorse jail, and declined to participate in the hearing via video, court heard.

Given his current state of mind, and the “extreme level of hostility” he has toward the Crown and Justice Elizabeth Hughes, he’s concerned he may commit further offences if he comes to court, an RCMP officer told the judge.

Hughes had asked the officer to visit McDiarmid at the jail and advise him of his options: attend court, participate by video, or have the hearing go on without him.

“It is clear that he has done everything possible to ensure that his sentencing does not proceed,” she said after the officer reported back from the jail.

At a hearing at the end of June, McDiarmid had requested the sentencing be adjourned so he could further prepare. He is self-represented.

“I will stop the sentencing even if I need to get a criminal charge to do it,” McDiarmid said, according to a court transcript.

“There will be no sentencing in July. It will be stopped.”

Hughes denied his request, noting she has no availability beyond July and the case had already been delayed over the years.

The sentencing was moved from Dawson City to Whitehorse over security concerns.

This morning, Crown prosecutor Jennifer Grandy began her sentencing submissions.

She proposed a four-year global sentence for the five charges McDiarmid was convicted of: three counts of assaulting police officers with a weapon, mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

He was found not guilty of two counts of attempted murder after a jury trial in Dawson City earlier this year.

McDiarmid has said he will appeal his convictions.

The charges date back to incidents in October 2011 in the Dawson area.

On Oct. 19, McDiarmid hit an RCMP vehicle with a sledgehammer three times while Sgt. Dave Wallace was inside it. Wallace was able to escape by driving away.

The next day, RCMP officers located McDiarmid off the Dempster Highway near the North Fork Road.

He drove over a spike belt they’d laid on the road, then threw an unlit Molotov cocktail at the windshield of one RCMP vehicle while two officers were inside.

He then approached them with a splitting maul raised above his head.

When he was two to three metres away from them, the two officers shot and injured him.

McDiarmid has been in custody at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre since.

The Crown’s position is that McDiarmid could receive enhanced credit of 1.25 days for every day he’s served in pre-trial custody.

Last month, McDiarmid filed a lawsuit against the Star and Dawson-based reporter Dan Davidson, alleging their trial coverage was libellous and inaccurate.

A case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 11.

The sentencing hearing continued this afternoon.