Cliffe Street standoff suspect found fit to stand trial
Aaron Glen Narvey, 32, of Fredericton, remains defiant before the courts, telling judge Monday, “Go fuck yourself”
A Fredericton man arrested after a standoff with police earlier this month cursed out a judge and hung up on her in the middle of a virtual court appearance Monday.
Aaron Glen Narvey, 32, of no fixed address, was ordered last week to undergo a five-day psychiatric assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial after several failed attempts to get him to appear in court.
Fredericton police officers arrested him the night of March 8 after a three-hour standoff at a Cliffe Street residence.
During his first scheduled court appearance by phone from the police station March 9, he was incoherent and unintelligible.
The following day, when the Fredericton provincial court tried to hold a bail hearing for him virtually, he refused to leave his cell at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre to appear by video-conference.
The court again set the hearing over to March 13 and ordered Narvey to be transported to the Justice Building in Fredericton to appear in court in person, but he refused correctional officers’ attempts to remove him from his cell for transport that day.
At that time, Judge Lucie Mathurin ordered the assessment given the ongoing issues with his behaviour.
The case was back on the Fredericton provincial court docket Monday for a fitness hearing, and Narvey appeared in court by video.
‘I’m pleading insanity’
Duty counsel Gerald Pugh said he’d reviewed the psychiatrist’s report with the defendant, and they accepted the finding that Narvey is fit to stand trial.
That means he understands the court process and is able to give instructions to counsel.
The Fredericton Independent requested a copy of that psychiatric report Monday, but the court declined the request.
Pugh said Narvey was waiving his right to a bail hearing, meaning he’ll remain in custody until the case concludes.
“I don’t even know my charges. I don’t know what I’m waiving my rights to,” Narvey said.
Mathurin started reading the charges to him, including an Oct. 13 count of possessing a stolen car belonging to John Francis.
“Johnny Francis is one of my really good buddies,” Narvey said, adding Francis wouldn’t accuse him of stealing his vehicle.
“I’m pleading insanity … I don’t know what’s going on, your honour.”
Under Canadian criminal law, there’s no such thing as pleading insanity. The Criminal Code of Canada has sections that provide for a defendant to be deemed not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder at the time of an alleged offence.
The bar for meeting the required criteria is quite high.
In those cases when an offender is found to be not criminally responsible, they fall under the purview of the New Brunswick review board, which holds review hearings to determine if he or she continues to pose a risk to the community or if he or she can be released back into the community with or without conditions.
Such offenders are usually held at the Restigouche Hospital Centre, a secure psychiatric facility in Campbellton, for treatment until they can be released.
‘You can go fuck yourself’
As the judge continued to read the charges Monday, Narvey hung up the telephone handset that allowed him to hear those in the courtroom in Fredericton, though the court could still see and hear him.
“Hey, your honour, you can go fuck yourself,” the defendant said before storming out of the video-conference room at the jail.
Mathurin adjourned Narvey’s case to March 27 and ordered that he be brought to the Fredericton courthouse in person at that time.
As a result of Narvey’s alleged actions March 8, Narvey faces charges of assaulting his mother Shelley Brewer and brother Kristopher Narvey with a weapon (bear spray), unlawfully confining Brewer, uttering threats to cause her death and/or bodily harm, and breaching a police undertaking and a probation order.
Narvey also faces Oct. 13 counts of assault on a police officer with a weapon (a car), flight, dangerous driving, possession of a stolen car and breach of probation; Sept. 25 counts of assault on his mother, property damage and probation violation; a Sept. 14 count of breach of probation; and a Nov. 14 breach of an order to attend court.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.