Father of notorious inmate acquitted of mischief

Since Dagenais’ visiting privileges had been revoked over an altercation the week before, he was told to leave the property. He did so, but said “I’ll be back” according to the testimony of a corrections officer.

Dagenais returned at 9:00 a.m. and was confronted by several officers who told him he wasn’t allowed on prison property. When he did not immediately leave, he was taken to the ground and arrested by two officers.

Because of Dagenais’ reputation at the prison, the judge concluded that the corrections officers “anticipated a difficult situation” when they saw Dagenais arrive. He said there appeared to be “a heightened sense of apprehension” about the visits on Aug. 30.

The judge also noted that the Dagenais had no way of knowing he was banned from the property before being informed by corrections officers. A letter from the penitentiary, entered into evidence by defence counsel, informed Dagenais only that his visitation rights had been suspended but did not advise him he was to stay off prison grounds.

The judge called the incident an unfortunate circumstance and said that both parties, corrections officers and Dagenais, could’ve acted more appropriately.

“The consequences on a mischief trial were not liable to be significant but he was relieved, I think he feels vindicated,” said defence counsel Kevin Hill.

After the verdict came down, Dagenais remained at the provincial courthouse for the remainder of the day to stand trial for unsafe storage of firearms. The charge resulted from a search of his farm several days after the penitentiary incident while Dagenais was still in custody.

Seven long guns and more than 750 rounds of ammunition were seized from his property during the search.

One of the guns, a .22 calibre rifle, was found leaning against a fridge in the kitchen with a full magazine and ammunition nearby, according to one RCMP officer’s testimony.

If convicted, it’s unlikely Dagenais would face jail time but there could be other consequences. “The significant issues are the forfeiture of the firearms … and whether he’s be subject to a firearms prohibition from the provincial court,” said Hill.

Dagenais’ guns were seized once before by the RCMP in 2009 but they were returned.

The trial has been adjourned until July 25.

sleslie@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Sean Leslie

Father of notorious inmate acquitted of mischief

What's Trending