A Yukon Supreme Court jury issued its verdict Friday afternoon in Whitehorse in the case of an alleged 2015 axe attack in Burwash Landing.

Douglas Twiss, 59, was found not guilty of charges of assault with a weapon and uttering threats.

But the 13-member jury, made up of four women and nine men, did find Twiss guilty of one count of mischief causing damage over $5,000.

That same day, Justice Stephen Kelleher gave Twiss a six-month suspended sentence and $200 surcharge for the count.

The jurors reached their verdict after half a day of deliberations following a four-day trial.

On Friday afternoon, Twiss appeared happy, remarking outside the courtroom that the jurors had made the best decision.

He said he was “about ready to cry,” and that he just wanted to be with family members who had come out to support him.

The case arose after a dispute between Twiss and Gerard Desjardins at Twiss’ home turned violent in April 2015.

According to court testimony, Twiss was sitting on his couch when Desjardins arrived unexpectedly.

He had driven about an hour and a half from Haines Junction, where he lives.

Desjardins said he wanted to clear up hard feelings over a woman they were both seeing.

Crown prosecutor Ludovic Gouaillier called the situation a “love triangle”.

But during final arguments, he said he regretted using the term, as it had become a “catch phrase” that “trivialized” the seriousness of the case.

“That argument could’ve been about anything that two people care about passionately,” he said.

Twiss, however, denied the claim, and said he was only upset that Desjardins had spread damaging rumours about him.

Gouaillier argued it was after Desjardins began to leave that things turned violent. He also said that Twiss made several excessive threats against Desjardins, including that he would cut his throat.

Desjardins secretly recorded the interaction, and the profanity-littered audio was played for the jury several times.

During testimony, Twiss admitted to throwing a clothes iron into a bush and throwing a box of tools with sharp putty knives at Desjardins.

Desjardins also claimed that he suffered a cut on his hand when Twiss swung an axe at him. But defence lawyer Vincent Larochelle questioned whether the minor injury could have been caused by an axe.

“It doesn’t make any sense that an axe did that to him,” he said.

Larochelle also argued that Twiss’ actions were justifiable as he was protecting himself and his property. He noted that Twiss is half the size of Desjardins and has a prosthetic.

Twiss was acquitted of the resulting charges.

But the jury did find that Twiss’ actions were not justifiable when it came to the damage he caused to Desjardins’ car.

Twiss admitted to hitting his headlight with an axe because he thought Desjardins was “materialistic” and it would make him angry.

He testified that he was in control of the situation when he continued to strike Desjardins’ hood and windshield with the axe.