A young woman who robbed a Whitehorse cab driver at knife-point is now behind bars.

For months, a territorial judge had given Shannon Wentworth a chance to come to terms with her cocaine addiction, but after a number of slips, the young woman now finds herself in jail.

Last January, Wentworth was sentenced to four months' jail time to be served from her home.

As part of that sentence, Wentworth was told to abstain absolutely from intoxicating substances a task that has proved difficult for the 19-year-old.

Four times, Wentworth has violated a court order that prohibits her from using any illegal drugs.

Under normal circumstances, even one violation would collapse a person's home sentence and send him or her to jail.

However, Judge Heino Lilles had acknowledged that since Wentworth was battling a strong cocaine addiction, she was bound to slip up from time to time.

Because of that, she was given a number of chances to start over again.

In her latest breach, that happened around April 13, Wentworth had left the territory without the permission of her probation officer.

Wentworth was in court last Friday to admit to the breach. This time, instead of asking for another chance, she asked to serve the rest of her sentence in jail.

The young woman has about a month left on that sentence.

'You're content that anything else would be too optimistic?' Lilles asked Wentworth.

She said yes.

The judge sent the teen to the Whitehorse Correctional Centre to serve out the remainder of her term.

'The onus is on you to try to get your life together,' said Lilles. 'Hopefully, Shannon, you will continue working towards your future.'

Last September, Wentworth robbed a taxi driver of $50, telling the cabbie she would kill him if 'it came to that.'

Lilles said if he felt Wentworth was a risk to the public, he wouldn't allow her to serve her sentence from home.

At the time of Wentworth's original sentencing, Lilles said he prepared the most complicated sentencing a territorial judge has ever prepared. It was designed to deal specifically with Wentworth's addiction.

Lilles based it on what Wentworth wanted for herself at the time. The judge also founded her sentence on research that showed recovering addicts need structure.

Not only was the young woman ordered to abstain from unprescribed drugs and alcohol, Wentworth was only allowed to get prescribed drugs from one doctor and permitted to use one pharmacy. All other pharmacies were ordered not to fill her prescriptions.

She was also not allowed to have any contact with drug traffickers.

Wentworth attended weekly meetings at Narcotics Anonymous and courses at Yukon College as part of her sentence. She also had to be in her residence by 5 p.m. daily.

Once Wentworth is released from jail, she must serve a year-long probation order that will make her abide by similar conditions.