A Fort McPherson man who shot and injured an Inuvik cab driver in March has been sentenced in Yellowknife to five years in prison.

Edward Christopher Snowshoe, 21, apologized in court Wednesday for the "devastation" he caused the driver and his family before he was sentenced in N.W.T. Supreme Court.

Snowshoe, who pleaded guilty to armed robbery, jumped into the cab with plans to steal it. A short way from town, Snowshoe ordered the driver to stop the cab. When the driver jumped out and ran, Snowshoe shot at him through the window, hitting him in the hip.

Although the driver was not critically injured, he still has the bullet in his body, court was told.

Snowshoe's lawyer said the young man was depressed at the time of the crime because two of his younger brothers had recently been apprehended by social services.

As the eldest of four sons being raised by a single mother, with alcohol problems, he felt he had let his family down when the boys were taken away, his lawyer said.

The Crown asked the court to send Snowshoe to jail for five to seven years, given his history and age. He had previous convictions for theft but this was his first violent crime.

In addition to the prison sentence, Snowshoe cannot possess a firearm for 10 years after he gets out of jail.