In jail on a robbery charge last April, Shane Brazeau promptly telephoned his uncle.

Disgruntled his nephew was, yet again, reaching out to family only when he was in trouble, the uncle told the 25-year-old to call him when he was out of jail.

'When he called last April, I asked where he was,' Tom Parent told territorial court Monday. 'He said jail. I told him I didn't want to hear from him and hung up.

'He comes towards us for help when he's in jail, but he doesn't give us a chance to help him when he's out.'

Parent said he hasn't spoken to his nephew since. However, he showed up in court because he thought he should give some sort of support to 'the brat' when he heard Brazeau was to be sentenced.

In court Monday, chief territorial court Judge Heino Lilles commended Parent for his stance and said he did 'exactly the right thing' by hanging up.

A psychological assessment completed for one of Brazeau's past court proceedings he's had many found the young man is very manipulative, immature and has little chance of staying out of trouble with the law without significant help.

He hasn't had a legitimate job in about five years and is described as 'parasitic' in his relationships with young women, going from one to the next for sex and a place to stay.

Lilles sentenced Brazeau to an additional month behind bars at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre to go along with the 11 1/2 months he's already served. With the standard double credit for remand time, Brazeau's record will show 23 months for the robbery conviction.

Charges of attempted robbery at Riverside Grocery and having his face masked while committing a crime were stayed by the Crown.

Originally, Brazeau had pleaded guilty last June, only to fire his lawyer and change his plea to not guilty in the fall, prompted by 'cold feet,' prosecutor David McWhinnie suggested. Brazeau's second guilty plea came March 12.

Brazeau and his co-accused, Kurtis Wagner, were arrested about a week after they held up Whitehorse Esso after midnight last April 1. Wagner received two years less a day, though he's serving his time in a federal penitentiary because of additional convictions.

Brazeau will also spend 18 months on probation. During that time, he must take assessment and treatment for his drinking and drug problems, undergo random drug testing and stay away from criminals, addicts and drug dealers.

It was an unpaid debt to a cocaine dealer that started Brazeau's latest stint in the bucket.

After owing money for drugs to someone who'd threatened to hurt him if he didn't pay up, Brazeau found himself with Wagner, a cocaine addict, in the Whitehorse Esso station at 11:30 p.m. March 31.

Defence counsel Lynn MacDiarmid said the two had gone into the station then to warm up, and argued when they arrived back an hour later, they were warming up again.

The second time they were in the gas station, the two men wore scarves and balaclavas. They talked to the lone male clerk for about 20 minutes, and asked what he would do if he were robbed.

McWhinnie suggested the two were casing the place for a robbery when Wagner pulled out a knife, showed it to the clerk and demanded money. Both young men grabbed approximately $550 in cash as well as debit card receipts before fleeing.

Lilles agreed Brazeau was clearly following Wagner's lead during the robbery.

The money was immediately paid to the drug dealer, who had a reputation for being very violent, said MacDiarmid. She added her client wasn't an addict who uses hard drugs regularly, but was simply in a jam at the time.

They were arrested days later after an RCMP officer spotted them hitchhiking on the Alaska Highway.

Brazeau has done nothing during his year in jail to deal with his problems. He's spent much of his time at WCC in protective custody.

At Wagner's sentencing last summer, Lilles called the robbery 'elementary' and 'inept,' suggesting the severely drug-addicted man try another day job.

Estranged from his mother, Brazeau only learned the identity of his biological father in the last couple of years.

He spoke with his father over the phone, but hadn't met him in person as the man died in a federal penitentiary last April.

Through his father, Brazeau has met a sister and a grandmother over the telephone, and has invitations to visit both of them.

His goal is to learn auto mechanics, leave the Yukon and stay with his sister in B.C., and he's focusing on building that family contact, MacDiarmid said.

A young man with a 'very unfortunate childhood,' Brazeau has little education or job skills.

If he's to escape the criminal world, Brazeau needs to make major lifestyle changes, said Lilles. The judge suggested he start by getting rid of his old peer group, many of whom are involved in crime and drugs.

'This speaks to the fact he needs to grow up, mature and start acting like a 26-year-old,' Lilles said.

Parent said he believes his nephew can do it, but said the young man needs to start asking his family for help when he's out of jail, not when he's in.

Brazeau is prohibited from having guns or ammunition for the next decade, and was ordered to pay $500 in restitution to Whitehorse Esso.