Carjacking suspect denies long list of charges
Daniel Andrew Murphy, 39, of Fredericton, accused of violent series of crimes Nov. 2 stretching from Fredericton to Salisbury
A former Fredericton firefighter and pitcher with the Senior Royals is headed to trial on charges alleging numerous violent offences, including carjackings.
Daniel Andrew Murphy, 39, of Trailside Lane in Fredericton, appeared by telephone from a remand facility Friday to answer to numerous Fredericton Police Force and RCMP charges, most of which stemmed from an extended incident Nov. 2.
Defence lawyer L.A. Henry told court Friday her client was electing to be tried in provincial court and pleading not guilty to all charges.
Murphy is accused of robbing Kevin Campbell of a vehicle by making threats of violence, attempting to steal a vehicle belonging to Mikayla Dejong, assaulting Fredericton police officer Cpl. Chris Furlotte with a tire punch, and obstructing Furlotte, all in or near Fredericton on Nov. 2.
Furthermore, he faces other Nov. 2 counts of robbing Holly Girouard by assaulting her with intent to steal, dangerous driving and fleeing from police, just outside city limits in Pepper Creek.
The defendant also faces a related charge under the Motor Vehicle Act of driving while suspended.
Murphy - who’s been in custody since his arrest - also faces unrelated counts alleging he stole from the Petro-Canada station on Royal Road in Fredericton and assaulted Brandon Peterson, both on Oct. 7.
The RCMP reported last fall that on Nov. 2, it was advised by the Fredericton Police Force that a suspect had forced the driver of a van in traffic in Fredericton from the vehicle and stole it, and sped off in the direction of Minto.
The vehicle was tracked to that area, the Mounties said, and though officers attempted to arrest him there, he fled in a stolen vehicle.
Police pursued the vehicle south on Route 10 and then eastward onto Highway 2, an RCMP spokesperson said, and the suspect vehicle failed to stop on numerous occasions for police.
The suspect almost made it all the way to Moncton, but the RCMP reported officers were able to halt the vehicle in Salisbury by using a tire-deflation device and arrested Murphy at that time.
None of the allegations against Murphy has been proven in court.
Murphy is a former member of the Fredericton Fire Department but is perhaps best known in the community as a former pitcher with the Fredericton Senior Royals baseball team.
Because of the number of charges, the complexity of the series of incidents and number of witnesses, Judge Cameron Gunn set Murphy’s matters over to May 17 for a case-management conference to set dates for the trials.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Holy crap -- Thank you Don wow