Court waits on assessment of fugitive truck driver

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This article was published 15/05/2017 (3097 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The court is still waiting to hear the results of a not-criminally responsible assessment that could determine the fate of a truck driver-turned-fugitive accused in the death of a 21-year-old man.

With a trial only three weeks away and ongoing concern about court delays in the nearly four-year-old case, Crown and defence lawyers said Monday they still haven’t received the NCR assessment for Randolf Enns, which was ordered in January.

Enns, in his mid-30s, is charged with dangerous driving causing the death of 21-year-old Derek Bossuyt in a July 2013 crash near Headingley. Enns was reportedly living in Paraguay for months, avoiding the charges against him, after he failed to show up for his trial in October 2014 and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested on that warrant more than two years later after landing in Toronto. Enns had booked a flight from South America to Toronto, intending to return to Winnipeg from there on Nov. 10, 2016. A Manitoba RCMP spokesman told the Free Press police weren’t sure whether it was Enns’ intention to turn himself in.

During a brief court appearance Monday, Crown attorney Manoja Moorthy and Enns’ defence lawyer, Laura Robinson, said the psychiatrist tasked with completing the NCR report has not yet finished it despite being granted an extension in March.

The Crown expressed concern that Enns’ trial, now set to begin on June 5, will be delayed further. The case was simply adjourned until next week with no new trial dates set.

Enns’ defence team requested the NCR assessment to determine his mental state at the time of the fatal crash, which had happened more than three years earlier. The assessments are meant to find out whether an accused was suffering from a mental disorder that made it impossible for him to understand what he was doing was wrong. Under Canadian law, a not-criminally-responsible assessment can be ordered even after an accused is found guilty, but before they are officially convicted.

Bossuyt was killed after the pickup truck he was driving was hit head-on by a semi-truck that had crossed the centre line of the Trans-Canada Highway near Headingley on July 22, 2013. Enns, formerly of Ladysmith, B.C., was charged with dangerous driving causing death and with resisting arrest. He is now also charged with failing to attend court and breaching his bail conditions.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay