Man facing firearms charges ruled fit to stand trial
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on September 21, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A 37-year-old man who claimed to be crazy and insisted he have a forensic assessment, is fit to stand trial, a forensic psychiatrist has concluded.Justice Timothy Hironaka referred to the forensic fitness report Wednesday in Lethbridge court of justice, where Danial Mark Ferguson faces several charges in relation to incidents last May when a man fired a BB gun at a Coaldale home and later at a motorist.
During court hearings earlier this year, Ferguson said he was crazy and needed to have a psychiatric evaluation. Section 672 of the Criminal Code allows the court to order an assessment of the mental condition of an accused, if there are reasonable grounds to believe it’s necessary to determine whether the accused is unfit to stand trial.
Ferguson had initially asked for the assessment on June 16, but the judge denied his request in absence of enough substantial evidence, even though the accused told court, “do you need me to kill myself or kill someone else? I am crazy, I’m just telling you that right now. I could kill myself right now.”
Ferguson also said, “I do drywall by myself and talk crazy to the walls. Everyone thinks I’m crazy.”
The the matter was adjourned, but another judge granted the assessment a few days later.
Ferguson faces two charges each of pointing a firearm, discharging a firearm with intent, and mischief causing damage under $5,000, as well as single charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, dangerous driving, and failure to comply with release conditions.
Police reported that shortly before 5 p.m. May 26 RCMP responded to a report of a shooting at a home in Coaldale. When police arrived the alleged shooter had already left, and was reportedly driving toward Lethbridge on Highway 3. Police said he also shot at another motorist.
The suspect was stopped at the intersection of Highway 3 and 43 Street in Lethbridge, and arrested by RCMP and Lethbridge police.
“A pistol was located in the vehicle and was determined to be a Winchester BB gun replica of a 1911 pistol,” officials said in a news release.
Ferguson was denied bail last month and remanded at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre. He was subsequently moved to the Calgary Remand Centre so he could be assessed at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre.
During Wednesday’s court hearing, Lethbridge lawyer Marcus Mueller withdrew as Ferguson’s counsel, citing a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship, and Ferguson was granted an adjournment for a week to find a new lawyer.
Justice Timothy Hironaka warned Ferguson, in light of the psychiatrist’s forensic report confirming he is fit to stand trial, not to make any more claims about being crazy.
“Her letter tells me…that if you were to make an application to be found not criminally responsible due to your mental condition, that application or that initiative would likely not be successful,” Hironaka said.
The Criminal Code also allows the court to order an assessment of the mental condition of an accused, if there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused was, at the time of the commission of the alleged offence, suffering from a mental disorder so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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