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Publication ban placed on criminal responsibility hearing for alleged Keremeos attacker

Facts of the attack made public in court including kicking, punching female staff
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Penticton’s Law Courts. (File)

The man who allegedly attacked the staff at the Village of Keremeos in 2021 has been awarded a publication ban put on his case.

Cameron Urquhart appeared virtually in Penticton’s Law Courts on Monday, July 11 for a Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) hearing which included the results of his psychiatric report.

The report has been placed under a publication ban by the judge following a request from Urquhart’s lawyer, according to the Penticton Court Registry.

The ban, under section 672.51 of the Canadian Criminal Code, means that no information will be available or disclosed to anyone not a part of the case’s proceedings, as the court feels that disclosure of the disposition information would be seriously prejudicial to the accused and that under the circumstances the protection of the accused takes precedence over the public interest in disclosure.

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Prior to the NCR hearing, the facts of the incident were read into the court record, which added context to the 14 charges Urquhart is facing for the Jan. 24 incident.

According to the statement of facts, police were called to the Keremeos municipal offices by a witness who reported a man, later identified as Urquhart, brandishing a sledgehammer and throwing someone on the ground.

The witness stayed on the line to provide updates while Urquhart returned inside to smash various items, including the security glass at the main counter, chasing people out of the office where he then pushed one woman onto the ground and kicked her. Another woman was punched in the face.

Urquhart continued to chase the other people as they fled to their vehicles. A second person also called RCMP, reporting that Urquhart was letting out the air from the tires of several vehicles, as well as shouting various comments that were heard in the background of the call.

In addition to the sledgehammer, which Urquhart broke the head of during his attack and a knife that was attached to Urquhart’s chest that went unused, Urquhart had also worn metal cleats which left cuts on one of his victims.

One of the victims who fled was punched in the back, causing them to slip on ice outside, and giving Urquhart an opening to approach and kick them repeatedly. Thanks to others distracting Urquhart, they were able to get away and into a vehicle driven by a woman passing by.

Once police arrived on scene, Urquhart punched the officer in the face, twisting on the ground to resist arrest before being taken into custody.

Urquhart had previously been deemed unfit for trial in a separate report that was presented to the court earlier, which is not covered under the publication ban.

Following Monday’s hearing, Urquhart is currently scheduled for an appearance before the court’s Judicial Case Manager on July 18.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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