Matthew Raymond to be tried by jury for fitness

The accused Fredericton shooter will face a special hearing to determine if he is fit to stand trial.

Matthew Vincent Raymond stands accused of four counts of first degree murder for the killings of Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright, along with responding Fredericton Police officers Sara Burns and Robb Costello on August 10, 2018.

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But the trial will have to wait, at least for now.

After Raymond’s latest assessment Justice Fred Ferguson has ordered a special fitness hearing beginning on September 30, the day the trial was due to begin.

“The court ruled that the threshold found in Section 672.23 to convene a fitness to stand trial hearing has been met and as a result a jury will be a panel September 30 to try that issue,” he told the court.

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A fitness assessment for Raymond was ordered on August 30 based on evidence that remains under publication ban and it was that report that led to the jury hearing being ordered.

Raymond had previously been found fit to stand trial but, as it is defined in the criminal code, fitness is an ongoing evaluation.

“Where the court has reasonable grounds, at any stage of the proceedings before a verdict is rendered, to believe that the accused is unfit to stand trial, the court may direct, of its own motion or on application of the accused or the prosecutor, that the issue of fitness of the accused be tried,” reads section 672.23 of the Criminal Code.

Because the trial will be a jury trial, it falls to a jury to determine if he is fit.