PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – A Saskatchewan judge has ruled that the father of a convicted Mountie killer had his rights breached when RCMP officers searched his home for weapons.
Judge M. M. Baniack said Monday in Prince Albert provincial court that the guns were confiscated from Art Dagenais’s property under false pretences.
The judge said because conditions of the search warrant used by RCMP were not met, the search was illegal and the guns cannot be used as evidence.
Dagenais is on trial charged with unsafe storage of firearms and ammunition.
The Crown will return to court on Nov. 5 with a decision on whether to proceed with the trial.
Art Dagenais was unhappy with the reaction from the Crown prosecutor on the ruling.
“What we heard today in court is the biggest form of bullying,” said Dagenais. “The judge has made his clear-cut decision, and the Crown is disappointed with it and they want to continue the trial on.”
His son, Curtis Dagenais, is serving a life sentence for the 2006 first-degree murders of RCMP constables Marc Bourdages and Robin Cameron.
This summer, Dagenais was found not guilty of mischief relating to an incident at Saskatchewan Penitentiary in August 2012, where his son is serving his sentence.
The Crown alleged he refused to leave prison property, even though he was asked repeatedly.
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