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By DON MACPHERSON
macpherson.don@dailygleaner.com

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A University of New Brunswick engineering student who forged a letter from city police in an attempt to reschedule an exam found himself facing a year of house arrest Tuesday.

William Mulewa, 26, of 683 Graham Ave., Apt. 2, previously pleaded guilty to a May 6 count of uttering a forged document.

He was in Fredericton provincial court Tuesday for sentencing on that count and several others: Feb. 18, 2007, and Aug. 5 counts of driving while prohibited; an Aug. 5 count of assaulting a police officer; and a Sept. 23 count of property damage.

Crown prosecutor William Corby said the forgery charge stemmed from a letter he presented to UNB as part of a request to reschedule an exam.

In the letter, Staff. Sgt. Tim Kelly explained that Mulewa had been the victim of an assault and that city police officers were investigating.

However, the letter proved to be a fake, Corby said.

Mulewa told the court he was assaulted April 18, but police refused to investigate when he complained.

Corby said the other offences were unrelated, but they painted a picture of how he pulled off the forgery.

"No wonder he has access to the Fredericton city police's letterhead. He's dealt with them so many times," the prosecutor said.

Mulewa was prohibited from driving as a result of a drunk-driving conviction early last year, Corby said, but nine days after that order, a city police officer spotted him behind the wheel in Fredericton's bar zone late at night.

They caught him again a few months later, and during the course of his arrest, he kicked an officer in the face.

On another occasion when he was placed under arrest, Corby said, Mulewa kicked the side of a police cruiser twice, denting it and causing damage.

"I've done some mistakes. That's not the kind of person I am," said the defendant, who's an international student from Kenya. "I didn't intend to harm anybody."

Judge Graydon Nicholas said it's clear the accused has a problem with alcohol and he urged him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

"You're accumulating a record here," he said. "If you're concerned about the future, well, you'd better start changing."

For the next year, Mulewa can only leave his home for work, education, church services, counselling, medical appointments, emergencies and five hours of personal time per week.

The judge also ordered him to abstain from alcohol and non-prescribed drugs, and to pay a $100 fine and several hundreds dollars in victim-fine surcharges.