Psych exam ordered for axe-attack suspect
Richard Andrew Hunter, 47, of Napadogan, who was just released from jail recently, tells court he feels mentally unwell, hears voices and experiences delusions
A Napadogan man accused of menacing two other men with an axe in Fredericton on Sunday is undergoing a psychiatric assessment to determine if he’s fit to stand trial.
Richard Andrew Hunter, 47, of Third Street in Napadogan, about 70 kilometres north of Fredericton, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Thursday by video-conference from the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre..
He was charged Monday with assaulting Elias Eliakis and Matthew Hunter with a weapon (namely, an axe), uttering a threat to those men to cause them death and/or bodily harm, and possessing the axe for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, all on Sunday in Fredericton.
Hunter’s appearance Thursday was supposed to be for a bail hearing, but duty counsel Gerald Pugh told the court his client was feeling unwell mentally.
He asked Judge Lucie Mathurin to order a 30-day psychiatric assessment to determine if Hunter is fit to stand trial.
“He hears voices at times,” Pugh said. “He has delusions of grandeur.”
The judge noted the police brief filed with the court for the bail hearing refers to some odd behaviour, though she didn’t specify what that was.
Mathurin said Hunter was only recently released from jail before Sunday’s alleged events, and the defendant had been at a psychiatric facility recently as well.
Prosecutor Brett Stanford said the Crown didn’t take issue with the defence’s request for the assessment, as there do appear to be mental-health issues at play in the case.
The judge granted the defence request and remanded Hunter to the Restigouche Hospital Centre, a secure psychiatric facility in Campbellton where such forensic assessments are typically conducted in New Brunswick.
Mathurin scheduled Hunter’s fitness hearing for Aug. 28, when the court, Crown and defence will review the results of the assessment.
Pugh said Hunter has other charges before the court and Hampton defence lawyer David Lutz is representing him on those counts.
The duty counsel lawyer suggested Hunter ought to apply for legal aid on the charges from Sunday with an eye to adding them to Lutz’s certificate.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.