deadmonton 2006 - saskatchewan RCMP deaths

delicious save to del.icio.us | submit to Digg


Ongoing developments | latest update.


The 47-year marriage between Arthur and Elsie Dagenais ended in 2003.


Elsie moved away from the family farm near Mildred to the nearby town of Spiritwood -- population 1,000 -- about 140 kilometres west of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.


She moved into a house on Main Street, just across the pavement from the local RCMP detachment, hoping to escape nearly five decades of violence and fear.


The acrimonious marriage and the bitter divorce took its toll on the family, in particular on son Curtis Dagenais, who at age 39 tried to take his own life in 2004.


Those who knew the family said the mean temper of the elder Dagenais was passed onto his son. On a Friday night in mid-summer, long-held violence and rage spilled over, ending just over a week later with the deaths of two RCMP officers.


For local residents the question of what went wrong was frequently heard. For others the memory of four other RCMP officers slain echoed with eerie similarity.


On July 7th, 2006 Arthur Dagenais phoned his son to tell him it looked like Elsie was probably going to get half the family farm. According to Curtis' uncle, Herb Jaster, "That triggered the whole thing. Curt was supposed to get the whole farm (as an inheritance)."


Curtis, dressed in a T-shirt, cut-off jeans and a ball cap, took a long-barrelled rifle, got in his pickup truck and drove to his mother's house.


Once there he confronted his mother and his sister, Grace, and soon the feud spilled onto Main Street.


"He grabbed Grace and practically threw her across the car and swore at her," said Jaster, adding Curtis blamed Grace because she would eventually get her mother's share of the farm.


Constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages

The RCMP were called.


Constables Robin Cameron, 29, and Marc Bourdages, 26, responded.


As soon as their cruiser turned the corner onto Main Street, Dagenais took off in his truck, heading back east to the town of Mildred and his father's farm -- just 12 kilometres away.


Cameron and Bourdages gave chase, calling the Spiritwood detachment for backup.


Speeding down country back roads past fields of grain and cattle nestled among stands of aspen, pine and black spruce, Curtis Dagenais made two calls from his cell phone.


According to Rick Lavoie, who knew Curtis since kindergarten, Dagenais called ahead to a friend to meet him along the road to Mildred where he planned to stop for the police chasing him. Lavoie said Dagenais wanted a witness to be present when the police pulled him from his truck because he had run-ins with the law before.


"But for some reason, the guy didn't show up and it (the pursuit) went south of Mildred."


Dagenais also called his father, and through tears told him he didn't think his old pickup could outrun police. Then the phone went dead.


The exact details of how the 27-kilometre chase ended aren't yet clear.


Cameron and Bourdages were in the lead pursuit car that had come to a stop at a bend in the road. A second cruiser pulled up behind -- how soon after the chase ended isn't known.


The female officer in the second car made an emergency call to report officers were down. She managed to return fire before a suspect fled into the bush, less than 10 kilometres from the nearest highway and just south of the Dagenais farm.


The windshield of Cameron and Bourdages' police car was riddled with bullets. Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests but it wasn't known if the officers were still in their cruiser when the gunfire erupted.


The female officer in the second car was not injured and her name has not been released. Police also remain tight-lipped about what type of weapon the suspect used or if he may have been hit by return fire. At an early press conference one officer said the weapon, a long-barrel firearm, was not recovered and was most likely still in the possesion of the shooter.


Cameron and Bourdages were taken to Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital and underwent intensive surgery. For the next week all the RCMP would say about their condition was that it was serious.


In the aftermath of the shooting, 40 police vehicles descended on the scene. By the next morning, the search for the suspect involved dogs, planes, helicopters and 250 members from RCMP detachments in Saskatchewan and Alberta.


A no-fly zone was established, giving police exclusive use of air space over the area. Roadblocks were set up around the village of Mildred and surrounding area, and some local residents were ordered away from their homes, including Arthur Dagenais, the suspect's father.


Arthur Dagenais then drove to Elsie's house and confronted Grace.


"I hope you're happy now," he is reported to have said. "Two policemen were shot."




Ongoing Developments





Curtis Alfred Dagenais

On July 8th, 2006 the RCMP issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of Curtis Alfred Dagenais, 41, in connection with the shooting. At the time Dagenais was also charged with attempted murder for shots fired at a third RCMP officer at the scene.


Police defined a 208-square-kilometre search area and admitted to the difficulties the landscape and the suspect presented.


"It's isolated and there is ample opportunity if he so wishes to make it difficult for himself to be found," one officer said.


"The rolling hills, streams and heavy brush add an additional danger to those members searching for Dagenais. Any time we are attempting to search for someone who has shown an ability to direct violence toward police officers, there is a concern."


back to ongoing developments index



On July 9th, 2006 RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, Deputy Commissioner Bill Sweeney and Assistant Commissioner Darrell McFadyen flew into Saskatoon to comfort the Cameron and Bourdages families.


"We have every resource that we can possibly use on this case. Everything possible is being done," said Zaccardelli, describing the shootings as "the random acts of a madman."


"We've known for a long time (about Dagenais)," Zaccardelli continued. "You always know and then the questions always get asked: Could you have done something else?"


For several days the search for Dagenais continued. The RCMP said, "Mr. Dagenais is from the area and would be very familiar with the area. There is a thorough and a systematic effort underway to locate him but the terrain is providing a ... challenge to our officers."


Hot days, high winds, night-time thunderstorms and heavy downpours also contributed to the difficulties officers faced.


The RCMP continued to describe the condition of Cameron and Bourdages as serious.


back to ongoing developments index



On July 11th, 2006 police revealed they had received a tip that Dagenais was spotted outside the search area.


On the day after the shooting two groups of people travelling on a highway reported seeing a "Caucasian male in his 40s wearing what has been described as a baggy white T-shirt, standing in the ditch." The persons contacted police after they returned home and became aware of the investigation.


The sighting was 32 kilometres from the scene of the gun battle. Two days later RCMP played down the reports saying, "We have not put a name to who that individual was . . . so we cannot conclusively say 100 per cent that we know who that person is. Investigators with the major crimes unit are of the belief that the individual seen was not Curtis Dagenais."



When Arthur Dagenais was told by police to leave his house, he blamed them for pushing Curtis "into a corner" and vowed that if anything happened to his son "police would have something to worry about."


He snarled at them, calling them all "crooks and liars."


Arthur Dagenais - Global TV photograph

On July 11th, Arthur Levi Dagenais, 69, was charged with obstruction of a peace officer by entering into a restricted crime scene area. Arthur was allegedly caught heading back into the search zone.


A second charge was added -- possession of an unregistered .22-calibre rifle -- after police searched a shed on his farm and found $27,000 cash and another rifle, a .303.


Arthur Dagenais had earlier filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife, a number of Spiritwood police officers and the Minister of Justice in the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench.


In his statement of claim, dated January 2006, he accused the police and his wife of malicious prosecution, abuse of power and a “high-handed and callous disregard” of his rights.


He sought seeking $1-million in damages.


back to ongoing developments index



On July 13th, 2006 reports surfaced that Cameron and Bourdages were struck in the head, and words such as "grave" and "dire" were used to describe their condition. It was later revealed that Cameron's family had made the decision to take her off of life support.


Reports also surfaced that Curtis Dagenais was listed on the CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre) database as a "police-hater."


Officers who asked to remain anonymous told The Saskatoon Star Phoenix newspaper that, "To be listed as a police-hater ... They don't do that lightly there must be previous, serious behavioural problems. You have to have done something real wrong."


Another officer said, "If you take everything he's ever done, he should be behind bars right now. There is obviously a pattern to his behaviour that justified being put on CPIC. But the courts don't deal with it, so he's back out and the police get blamed if something else goes wrong."


back to ongoing developments index



On July 14th, 2006 RCMP announced they were scaling back the search for Curtis Dagenais.


"We don't know where he is," an RCMP spokesman said.


Police said they would maintain a 24-hour presence in Spiritwood and checkpoints on roads in the area were moved closer to the crime scene. Displaced residents were told they could return to their homes.


"We've satisfied ourselves, to the extent possible, that the suspect is not in that area," said police, adding that investigators were concentrationg on following up on more than 140 tips received. They did not say where the search would be moved to.



Also on July 14th Arthur Dagenais was denied bail.


Through his lawyer, Arthur said he feared his son would commit suicide. “It’s a very real possibility that Curt isn’t walking any longer. Perhaps they haven’t found him because he’s already dead out there.”


Saskatchewan provincial court Judge Violet Meekma ruled that Dagenais’s animosity toward police and his behaviour since the shooting made it necessary to keep him behind bars.


“There will be a risk of serious harm if the accused is released, either through direct actions of violence or his efforts to interfere in the search,” she said. The Crown has said it feared that if Dagenais were let out, he would help his son evade capture.


Meekma also referred to the elder Dagenais’ behaviour after the shootings toward his former wife as another reason to keep him in custody.


In court it was said that the elder Dagenais had a conviction from 1999 for threatening a highway traffic officer and another one from 1967 for common assault. He had also been convicted four times in the last 10 years for soliciting prostitutes. All convictions resulted in fines or probation.


In 1993, Arthur pursued a private prosecution against police, claiming they had beaten him up and left him on a highway. The charge was stayed by the prosecutor.


Arthur Dagenais was set be back in court July 26th (that date was later changed to July 19th). His lawyer said he would plead not guilty and seek a Queen’s Bench justice to overturn Meekma’s bail decision.


"There is no record that he has ever pointed a gun at anybody," his lawyer said."There is no indication he would do that in the future. This wouldn't be happening to Arthur if he wasn't the father of Curtis Dagenais."


A family spokeswoman said Elsie Dagenais’ first response was relief at the bail decision and that Elsie feared for her safety if her former husband were released.


back to ongoing developments index



On the morning of July 16th, 2006 news reports from the Prime Minister's office indicated Constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages had died from their injuries.


The reports were later confirmed at a press conference held by RCMP Assistant Commissioner Darrell McFadyen.


"Robin died at approximately 11 p.m. [July 15th] and Marc about two hours later," McFadyen said. "Both succumbed to severe head injuries. Despite all of the excellent care that was provided to them, they were unable to recover."


"Marc and Robin were both dedicated and much-loved members of the RCMP. We grieve with the Bourdages and Cameron families."


In attendance at the conference were family members of the slain officers.


Cameron's father, Howard, talked about how proud he was of his daughter — and how her family came to realise she would not recover from her injuries.


"There was nothing wrong with her heart, but wounds to her head were so devastating that doctors told us, and we knew, she would never come back," he said.


"We asked for that miracle for our members to survive, but it wasn't meant to be. We have to heal. It's going to take a while."


Const. Natasha Bourdages, who worked alongside her husband Marc at the Spiritwood detachment, thanked the Royal University Hospital for giving him the "best care possible" and said there has been an outpouring of support from family and friends.


"Their love and support and the messages that we have received from across Canada helped us stay strong through this horrible week. But I believe that Marc is with us now in spirit and that he is in a better place where he can be peaceful."


Natasha Bourdages was also identified by various sources as Natasha Szpakowski and Natasha Spukowsky.


Cameron was a single mother with an 11-year-old girl. Bourdages had a nine-month-old boy.


back to ongoing developments index



On July 18th, 2006 the Edmonton Sun reported they received a five-page letter they claim was written by Curtis Dagenais.


Max Maudie - Edmonton Sun photograph

The letter was reviewed by Sun reporter Max Maudie and was mailed from Shell Lake on July 14th, the day after police scaled back their search. Shell Lake, a town of 172 people, is about 30 km from Spiritwood.


"I feel terrible about what has happened, but they (police) would not leave me alone," read the headline on the Sun's front page.


The letter, signed by a "Curtis Dagenais", claims to have been written by the shooting suspect and can be viewed here or at the Edmonton Sun web site.


The RCMP are investigating the letter and a spokesman said, "It is unclear at this point in time if it was mailed by himself or he had assistance in mailing that letter."


While the letter can only be taken at face value, it may be the only "version" of events that took place July 7th available until the RCMP release their report or until Dagenais goes to trial.


The Sun obtained three samples of Dagenais' signatures from documents at the North Battleford courthouse and reported they bore a striking similarity to the signature on the letter sent to the paper.


Excerpts from Max Maudie's article and five images of the letter can be viewed here.



In a story published July 18th, the Globe and Mail reported the RCMP may have waited nearly 70 minutes before allowing an ambulance to reach Cameron and Bourdages.


In their accounting of events, the RCMP said the shooting ended at 9:15 p.m. and that the third officer summoned the ambulance.


According to Garry St. Onge, who manages Spiritwood’s ambulance service, paramedics received the call at 10:24 that night to respond to two officers down near Mildred.


“It shouldn’t have taken any longer than seven minutes [to get there],” he said.


"I'm assuming, given the situation where you have an armed and dangerous man in a particular vicinity, things take time," St. Onge added.


Paramedics were told to head to the village of Mildred, just 12 kilometres to the east, where they met with RCMP officers who escorted them another 15 kilometres to the scene of the shooting.


The officers were transported to Spiritwood, where their condition was stabilised, before being driven by ambulance to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, St. Onge said.


A police spokesman said that the RCMP won’t release details about what happened on July 7th until after the officers’ regimental funerals.


"If there is a material change in information that I can release, we'll make that available to you," the spokesman said.


An area resident contacted by the Globe said, “We don’t want to get involved. We have to live here,” adding that when the two RCMP cruisers drove past her property she noticed “nothing out of the ordinary.” The resident wouldn’t say what time the vehicles drove by or how quickly officers were driving.


Another resident said she would talk about the police pursuit only after the criminal investigation wraps up stating, “We don’t want to interfere with their work and the search that is going on.”


On July 19th RCMP issued a statement revising the earlier announced timeline.


The release indicated that at 9:15 p.m. on July 7th, 2006, Cameron and Bourdages were still actively investigating the assault complaint in Spiritwood, and that the pursuit ended at approximately 10:15 p.m. After shots were fired, a request for assistance was made at approximately 10:25 p.m.


back to ongoing developments index



Late in the afternoon of July 18th, 2006, Curtis Alfred Dagenais gave himself up to officers at the Spiritwood RCMP detachment.


Dagenais was accompanied by farmers Rosanne and Armand Smith from the Mildred area.


RCMP gave few details at a press conference held shortly after his arrival at the detachment.


"Of all the endings, this is the perfect ending to such a tragedy, to have him come in," Supt. Rob Nason said.


"I think there’s a sense of relief that the objective we had been striving for . . . his safe arrest, his safe surrender, has been effected. That has been the objective of everyone involved," said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Brian Jones.


"Now we can move on to other aspects of the investigation, which will allow most of our officers to return to their home units," said McFadyen, commanding officer of the RCMP in Saskatchewan.


Dagenais was taken to hospital for treatment to an ankle injury but was otherwise in good health after 12 days on the run. Police said Dagenais was "hidden" well outside the search area.


"We just talked and he decided to give himself up and thank God he did," Rosanne Smith told media.


"Everybody could relax and it's over with. The only thing we told him was that it would be better for him to do this than to, you know, commit hara-kiri or something. We just kept telling him it was the best thing to do."


Howard Cameron, father of Constable Robin Cameron, said "A big sigh of relief came, knowing that this suspect was in custody and that no other people in Spiritwood or surrounding communities were in danger."


"I thanked the members for their diligence and their hard work and dedication in putting in the long hours trying to find this person," he said.


"He's really lucky," Cameron said, "I wouldn't have wanted to see what would've happened if he'd decided to make a stand out in the bush someplace and battled a couple hundred (RCMP) members."


Defence lawyer Lori Gollan said Arthur Dagenais, Curtis’ father, couldn’t speak for five minutes after hearing his son was alive.


An RCMP spokesman dismissed suggestions that the Mounties would have preferred to have captured Dagenais.


"I think we were all surprised but at the same time pleased that that's the way it had turned out. It had been our objective right from the start that he be located and either surrender or be arrested safely, and so regardless of how it happened, the fact that it did happen was good news for everyone."


back to ongoing developments index



On July 19th, 2006 Curtis Dagenais appeared before Judge Violet Meekma in a North Battleford court room to face charges.


Walking with a noticeable limp due to what his lawyer described as "tissue damage," Dagenais was led to the Plexiglas-enclosed prisoner's box.


Meekma, who is also presiding over Arthur Dagenais' case, read the younger Dagenais the charges — two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder — and then asked Dagenais if he understood what she had read.


Dagenais said simply “no.”


Meekma then read the charges one at a time and Dagenais then said “yes,” he understood the charges.


Crown prosecutor Dennis Cann and defence lawyer Lori Gollan both agreed that Dagenais would remain in custody until his next appearance August 17th, 2006. The proceedings lasted less than five minutes.


As a result of charges being read in court the identity of the third RCMP officer involved in the shooting was revealed. Dagenais was charged with the attempted murder of Michelle Knopp. Her rank was not established.


Outside court, Curits Dagenais’ lawyer (who also represents his father), suggested her client has a story to tell.


“I think Curt’s story needs to be told and I think it will be told, but just not today,” Gollan said.


“I think more information will come forward. It’s just it isn’t the time or the place for it … it’s too soon. Some time has to pass.”


It was speculated Gollan would soon step down as Dagenais’ lawyer to make way for more experienced council.


There was also no word if a weapon had been recovered.



In a story published by the Globe and Mail on July 19th, a source close to the RCMP told the paper the officers had been trying to force Dagenais to stop by ramming their vehicle into the back of his truck. The story reported the force of the ramming caused the air bags to deploy in the constables’ vehicle.


“They were rendered helpless by the air bags,” said the source. Shortly afterward, the two officers were shot with a rifle, first Cameron, then Bourdages.


The source told the Globe an internal memo containing a detailed account of what happened was e-mailed to RCMP members after the shooting. The memo also asked members not to talk with the press.


In the letter attributed to Dagenais, the writer complained that police "would ram me hard, hoping to spin me out of control, hoping that I would roll."


Another scenario suggested that pursuing officers wouldn't have been able to see a stopped vehicle obscurred by dust clouds typically encountered on gravel country roads.


The writer of the letter also said when he stopped the Mounties started firing at him. "They wanted to kill me, to hush me about their dirty work."



Also on July 19th the Crown requested a stay on a charge against Arthur Dagenais relating to possessing an unregistered .22-calibre rifle. The stay was requested due to an amnesty on gun registrations.


The elder Dagenais tried to plead not guilty, but the judge said he couldn't enter a plea until after the preliminary hearing.


Arthur Dagenais was remanded in custody until the hearing, set for December 5th, 2006.



The couple who accompanied Curtis Dagenais to the RCMP detachment in Spiritwood described the events of July 18th.


Rosanne said Dagenais apparently waited in the bushes for her husband to finish cutting hay around 9 p.m. on July 17th. Dagenais then broke into the tractor where he spent the night. The Smith farm is located just outside the RCMP search area near Mildred.


It was just after ten the next morning when the Smiths saw what they first thought was a porcupine. They soon realised who the figure was.


"He came to the truck and we started talking and we talked and talked and talked until we convinced him that [surrendering] was the best thing," Armand Smith said.


"He talked about doing himself in and we said 'no,' and 'that's probably not the right way to do it,' and that's about all we did. We certainly don't know whether it was the right thing to do, but it worked out," Smith added.


Smith said he and his wife also convinced Dagenais that he could still turn his life around if he turned himself in and served his time.


"He talked about family and he talked about what he did. He knew, he knew that he had done something really wrong," said Smith.


"He just would go over things and over things and over things and we I guess heard him out and we kept, I guess, level heads and tried to convince him to turn himself in."


Rosanne Smith made Dagenais a sandwich and a cup of coffee before the couple accompanied him to Spiritwood at about four in the afternoon.



On July 19th the Globe and Mail quoted Denis Allchurch, a Saskatchewan Party MLA who lives in Spiritwood and represents the area, as saying the letter published by the Edmonton Sun was written by Dagenais.


“They’ve [RCMP] confirmed that it is his handwriting,” Allchurch said.


He said police told him not to comment when the letter surfaced in the paper’s newsroom but added that the document bore the tone of the Curtis that he knows -- someone who blames police and his family for his problems.


A police spokesman said they would not comment on the contents of the letter, but that it was being authenticated through handwriting analysis and other tests.


Any confirmation that the handwriting looks like Dagenais’ is “preliminary” and by “initial analysis,” he added.


The Globe also reported that according to Canada Post the Shell Lake post office only has mail boxes inside the outlet. Staff there don’t remember seeing Dagenais, and if they had, would have contacted police, a Canada Post spokesman said.


The Shell Lake postmaster said many people had left their keys in their trucks in case Dagenais came looking for an escape vehicle. "Nobody wants him to come into their house," she said.


An area business owner interviewed by the Globe said she thinks Dagenais had help.


“He couldn’t have survived out there alone. How did he mail that letter by himself?”


back to ongoing developments index



On July 20th, 2006 the Saskatoon Star Phoenix published details of an interview with a neighbour of Armand and Rosanne Smith. The man, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, had talked with the Smiths about their involvement with Curtis Dagenais. Details of how the fugitive survived and eluded police emerged.


"They told me everything," the man said. "We're all behind (the Smiths). I told them that. I think they needed a hug."


During the six-hour conversation the Smiths had with Dagenais, the neighbour said the wanted man told them about his time on the loose.


According to the man, Dagenais went to his father's farm several hours after the shooting to pick up some clothing and other supplies.


By the next day, Dagenais had fled across the highway north and then moved around constantly.


"All the time they thought he was over there (south of the highway). He stayed just north of everything that was going on," said the man.


The RCMP searched an area 14 kilometres wide and 17 kilometres long from Mildred going south.


"He made loops around here, took a little grub here and there," he added.


Dagenais broke into local farmhouses and took small amounts of sausage, bread or whatever he could find. He slept wherever he could -- grain bins, tractors, the bush. Born and raised in the area, "he knew it well," the man said.


Dagenais told the Smiths no one had helped him.


The man said everyone knew Curtis Dagenais and his father, Arthur "were gonna do something" eventually. No one thought that police officers would be murdered.


"Art had no respect for the police, and he drilled that into his son," said the man.



Also on July 20th the Globe and Mail carried additional details of the encounter between Dagneais and the Smiths.


Apparently Dagenais kept abreast of what the police were doing by sneaking into unlocked homes and reading newspapers, and listening to a small radio he had with him.


The Smiths also said they didn’t call police to let them know they had Dagenais at their house for fear it might spark another police chase. The couple didn’t want to turn him in against his will for fear he would violently turn on them.


Roseanne Smith said when she walked into the Spiritwood RCMP detachment on July 18th and announced Dagenais was waiting outside in a car and was ready to surrender, all of the officers’ “mouths fell open, their eyes popped out and they started walking around like chickens with their heads cut off.”


“They were ready to draw their guns and the whole nine yards. I told them not to worry, that he was calm and ready to give himself up,” she added.


back to ongoing developments index



On August 1st, 2006 the Saskatoon Star Phoenix reported that in March 2005 Arthur Dagenais launched a malicious prosecution lawsuit seeking $1 million in punitive damages against three other RCMP officers, the Saskatchewan justice minister and Dagenais' ex-wife.


The lawsuit alleged Sgt. Brad Mueller and Constables J.G.R. Giroux and Ed Gallant knew Arthur Dagenais was not guilty in October 2003 when they laid a sexual assault charge against him based on a complaint by his then-wife, Elsie Dagenais. The charge was later stayed.


Arthur Dagenais - Global TV photograph

The lawsuit sheds further light on the animosity the Dagenais father and son felt toward the RCMP in Spiritwood.


"I guess it says that there's at least this degree of history of some discontent or unhappiness," said lawyer Donald McKillop, a provincial government lawyer representing Saskatchewan Justice Minister Frank Quennell, who, as the RCMP employer, has also been named in the suit.


Little progress was made on the lawsuit in the months leading up to the shooting, but just days after the shooting, Arthur Dagenais's lawyer took the legal step of "noting the defendants for default," said Harvey Walker, who represents Elsie Dagenais in the lawsuit.


That step prevents the defendants from taking taking any steps in relation to the lawsuit, including filing a statement of defence, without first obtaining permission from a judge, Walker said.


The point may be moot because Dagenais missed a legal deadline for serving the statement of claim on the defendants, Walker said.


A plaintiff has six months after filing a statement of claim with the court to serve notice to the defendants. Dagenais filed his claim in March 2005 and served notice to defendants in January 2006, Walker said.


back to ongoing developments index



On August 3rd, 2006 a Saskatchewan judge put over a decision to allow Arthur Dagenais be released while waiting for his trial for obstruction of justice.


The judge will decide August 14th if the elder Dagenais will be released on electronic monitoring until his trial scheduled for December 5th, 2006.


At the hearing, court heard Arthur Dagenais disobeyed the police order to stay away from his farm because he wanted to get home to phone so Curtis would see his father’s number and answer the call.


The RCMP announced it intended to conduct a “shoulder-to-shoulder search” for the murder weapon on Curtis Dagenais’ property, which is about six kilometres from Arthur Dagenais’ property.


The Crown prosecutor suggested Arthur Dagenais may know where the rifle is and speculated as to whether he is the type of person who would tell police where to find it.


The prosecutor argued that the administration of justice would fall into disrepute if Arthur Dagenais was allowed to return to his home near Spiritwood.


Some residents have signed a petition demanding that Arthur Dagenais not be allowed to return to the community. The RCMP “have been inundated” with calls of concern that he will return.


Arthur Dagenais’ wife, Elsie, and his daughter, Grace, have said they will go into hiding if he is released, the Crown said.


Lori Gollan, Arthur Dagenais’ lawyer, argued her client has already been in jail long enough to have served any sentence he might receive if he were to be convicted on the minor charge of obstruction of justice.


“Art may be an angry man. . . . In Canada we don’t incarcerate people for being angry,” Gollan said.


Arthur Dagenais admits he received a phone call from his son as Curtis tried to elude police prior to the shooting, and that he was on his way to meet him when the shooting happened.


There was confusion about the meeting place and Arthur Dagenais took the wrong road, Gollan said.


There was nothing about Arthur Dagenais’ desire to help his son at the time to justify his continued incarceration, Gollan argued.


back to ongoing developments index



On August 14th, 2006 a judge in a North Battleford courtroom released Arthur Dagenais on bail while awaiting trial for obstruction of justice.


Justice Don Kruger attached 12 specific conditions to the bail but electronic monitoring was not one of them.


Dagenais must stay within a six-mile radius of the house on his ranch and stay out of Spiritwood, a town about 12 miles from his property, and he must stay away from about 20 people, including family members, witnesses in his and his son's criminal cases and several active and retired members of the RCMP.


Dagenais will be allowed to pick up his mail in Mildred and may attend appointments with the court, his lawyer and doctors. He must present himself to a peace officer or bail supervisor and remain with them long enough for them to determine if he has been drinking. He must submit to police searching his person, home or vehicle if they have reason to believe he is violating the no-alcohol or weapons conditions.


The hearing took up most of the day and bail was set at $1,500. Kruger said that he considered Dagenais at a medium risk to reoffend but is not likely to breach the conditions.


The news of the elder Dagenais' release was met with displeasure among Spiritwood townfolk who were circulating a petition asking justice officials to keep him in police custody.


The MLA for the area, Rosthern-Shellbrook's Denis Allchurch, said somebody approached him with the petition, but he declined to sign it.


"I believe it should be left up to the courts to decide," said Allchurch.


back to ongoing developments index



On August 17th, 2006 Curtis Dagenais was back in court.


Limping as he entered, wearing a full beard, short-sleeve black T-shirt and black pants, the look on his face was described as a scowl.


During a brief eight-minute appearance before judge Violet Meekma, the issue of conflict of interest arose.


Lori Gollan

Lori Gollan represents both Curtis and his father, Arthur Dagenais.


Gollan asked the court for more time to examine the Crown's disclosure of evidence that she believed was delayed because the Crown is worried about a potential conflict of interest, as Arthur may be asked to testify against his son.


Meekma took the unusual step of having Curtis Dagenais verbally agree to a 'disclosure of evidence agreement' with the Crown.


Dagenais agreed not to release, show or discuss any specifics of the case with the public, witnesses or the media, including his father, other than a statement his father gave to police.


Dageanis is being held in secure custody, meaning he can only leave his cell for 15 minutes a day and can't spend more than three minutes at a time alone with anyone.


Scott Bartlett

Crown prosecutor Scott Bartlett said the order was required because Art Dagenais may be called as a prosecution witness when the case gets to trial.


Bartlett also said it took time to assemble the large amounts of evidence, and that "Ms Gollan represents both Curtis Dagenais and his father, Art. That has the potential for conflict and it complicates giving disclosure."


"The only condition that is out of the ordinary is the condition with respect to the father, Art Dagenais, and that has to do with the fact he is the accused's father and he is a likely Crown witness, at least on the preliminary hearing," Bartlett said.


Gollan bristled at the prosecutor's office balking at giving her disclosure because of the possibility of conflict of interest.


"It's normally up to me to say I'm in conflict ... and to deal with it. It is certainly not the Crown's place to tell me I'm in conflict and expect me to step down prior to even looking at what he's implying may bring me into conflict," she said.


A legal expert agreed it was too soon to say if it would be appropriate for Gollan to represent both the father and son.


"I don't know exactly how Art plays into this and I don't know if Art's testimony is contentious," said Daryl Labach, past president of the Saskatoon Criminal Defence Lawyers' Association. "Until Lori has a look at the disclosure, I don't think she can make a determination about whether she's in a conflict-of-interest situation.


"If she was still representing Art at the time Curtis' (preliminary hearing) comes up, then I think it would probably be a conflict of interest in that situation. It would be interesting if Art's case was resolved. Could Lori then run a prelim where Art's a witness for the Crown?"


back to ongoing developments index



On September 6, 2006 Curtis Dagenais appeared in a North Battleford courtroom and was remanded in custody until December 13th, 2006.


Crown Prosecutor Scott Bartlett said two weeks has been set aside beginning March 12, 2007 for a preliminary hearing. It was expected the first week of the hearing will deal with forensic evidence.


At the appearance Dagenais's lawyer, Lori Gollan, said the Crown was taking too long to reveal its evidence.


Under law, the Crown is obliged to present all its evidence to the defence in a process called 'discovery.'


Gollan had previously complained of the delay attributing it to the Crown's fear of a conflict of interest. Gollan represents both Curtis and his father, Arthur Dagenais.


Court is to hear the issue on the December court date.


back to ongoing developments index



For additional information, visit the Last Link Robin Cameron, Marc Bourdages and Curtis Alfred Dagenais pages.


Tributes paid to Cameron and Bourdages can be found here.