Keremeos town hall assailant allowed back in region, but not village

A man who smashed up the Keremeos village office then threatened and assaulted people inside is allowed back in the Thompson-Okanagan.

That’s after the province’s highest court overturned a ruling by the review board overseeing Cameron Edward Jake Urquhart’s mandatory mental health treatment. 

The BC Court of Appeal found the BC Review Board’s previous decision to bar him from the region was “unreasonable.” The court stopped short of allowing him back in the village, but gave the OK for visits to the region as a whole.

Thanks to the appeals court, Urquhart’s restrictions were largely reverted to those before August 2024. For a year before that, he was allowed to leave the Lower Mainland Forensic Psychiatric Hospital for up to 28 days at a time with prior approval, though he had only ever been away for up to 10 hours at a time in 141 unsupervised excursions.

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“There is no evidence in the record nor do the reasons suggest that Mr. Urquhart posed any increased risk a year later,” the Feb. 7 appeals court decision reads.

Urquhart wanted his potential for 28-day leaves returned and the condition that barred him from the Thompson-Okanagan removed. He didn’t propose the added condition he still be barred from Keremeos, but he didn’t oppose it when raised by Crown lawyers.

He remains in custody following a January 2022 incident where he entered the village office wearing hockey pads and steel cleats. Armed with a sledgehammer, he claimed he was taking over and demanded to see the mayor.

He threatened staff, smashed things in the building and chased people as they ran to their vehicles. He kicked one person with his metal cleats after pushing them to the ground.

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When a police officer arrived, he jumped through a car window and assaulted the cop until he was subdued and arrested.

In August 2022, Urquhart was deemed not criminally responsible due to mental disorder when facing 11 criminal charges, with blame pointed to his schizophrenia. He stopped taking medication in 2019 and went downhill from there.

Once held in the forensic hospital, the length of a patient’s stay is determined by the BC Review Board, which examines how their treatment has progressed and their risk to the public.

In Urquhart’s case, the board found he still posed a threat to the public, despite making significant progress with his symptoms. As long as he is supervised and medicated, he posed a low public risk.

When he might be released from forensic hospital custody entirely is unclear.