Violent schizophrenic found not criminally responsible
Fergus Charles Fitzpatrick, 41, of Fredericton, assaulted people at random last fall and broke into Science East, stealing an "artifact"
A Fredericton man with a history of schizophrenia and delusional behaviour who punched people in the face at random last fall has been remanded for psychiatric treatment.
Fergus Charles Fitzpatrick, 41, of no fixed address, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by video-conference from the Restigouche Hospital Centre in Campbellton on Wednesday afternoon.
He faced numerous charges - including multiple assaults, property damage and a break-in - but he’d undergone psychiatric assessments.
A new report filed with the court indicated he’s now fit to stand trial, meaning he understands the court process and can communicate effectively with his lawyer, allowing the case to move forward.
But a previous assessment also found he was not criminally responsible for his actions at the time of his various offences due to a mental disorder.
Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan, in relaying the facts of the case to the court, noted the most serious of the offences occurred Dec. 5.
Police responded that afternoon to a series of assaults in downtown Fredericton, he said, and the investigation revealed the chaos started with Fitzpatrick throwing a rock at the windshield of a vehicle at the corner of Regent and King streets.
Fitzpatrick then punched two men at random - Dylan Stuart and Martinus Vanrijn - on King Street before leaving the area, court heard, and the defendant was arrested a short distance away after a brief struggle with police.
Officers then discovered Fitzpatrick had assaulted another random person downtown that afternoon when they got a call about a woman being treated at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.
"Genevieve Forest informed Fredericton Police Force members that she had been walking west on Queen Street when a male matching Mr. Fitzpatrick's description approached her and punched her in the face as hard as he could," the prosecutor said.
Jordan noted Forest reported the man shouted something as he did so, but she didn't remember what he said.
"Ms. Forest stated that she does not know Mr. Fitzpatrick but does recognize him from seeing him downtown," he said.
"She told FPF members that he always seems like he is in a delusional state."
She sustained a broken orbital bone in the attack, court heard, resulting a charge of assault causing bodily harm.
Other victims and witnesses also reported they’d seen the man downtown, often ranting and talking to himself, clearly mentally ill.
Fitzpatrick told court Wednesday he accepted those events occurred as the prosecutor described.
Museum break-in
Fitzpatrick had run afoul of police in the weeks before his downtown rampage, the prosecutor said.
Officers were dispatched to Science East on Brunswick Street the evening of Oct. 10 after an alarm went off at the museum, he said, and they found the bottom glass panel of the front door had been smashed with a rock.
There was little disturbed inside, court heard, but Science East officials reported a single item had been taken - described as an “ancient artifact.”
Police reviewed security footage and identified Fitzpatrick as the suspect, Jordan said, though tips came in from the public after Science East posted the footage on Facebook.
Fitzpatrick remained at large and turned up again at about 9:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at the offices of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick at the corner of Regent and Brunswick streets, where he threw a rock through a window, causing $500 in damage.
Jordan said police found Fitzpatrick a few hours later at 3:20 a.m. Nov. 2 and arrested him, only to release him on a promise to appear in court at a later date.
He committed the random assaults a month later, leading to his detention and eventual psychiatric assessments.
Restigouche report
Jordan, defence lawyer Michael Mallory and Fitzpatrick accepted the finding he was not criminally responsible, as did the court.
Marked as an exhibit in Wednesday’s hearing was a fitness report filed by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Yu Chen Yue with Restigouche, a secure psychiatric hospital in Campbellton.
A copy was provided to the Fredericton Independent, and that report sheds some light on the defendant’s history of mental illness and mindset at the time of his most recent offences.
Yue notes Fitzpatrick has a documented history of schizophrenia and has been homeless since February 2022.
He also wrote Fitzpatrick had been assessed at Restigouche in 2019 on previous offences, but at that time, he was deemed criminally responsible for those actions.
Upon arrival at Restigouche, the report said, Fitzpatrick tested negative for drugs in his system. It also notes he refused to co-operate with the fitness assessment, though he did communicate with staff during his time there.
“Most recently, his delusions beliefs about a suicide mission through reported involvement with U.S. and Canadian politics with Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau, to which he attributed his behaviours around the time of the index offences,” Yue wrote.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick endorsed paranoid delusions about a conspiracy against him. He also stated that Fredericton police wanted to arrest him for his reported sexual affairs with their wives. He declined to elaborate further on his delusional beliefs.”
While hospitalized, the doctor noted, Fitzpatrick displayed “intermittent bizarre delusions” that included some about radioactivity.
He also had to be isolated and medicated for safety reasons, and once attacked another patient.
Yue said that upon being medicated appropriately, Fitzpatrick had once again become fit, and during Wednesday’s hearing, he was lucid and said he understood the proceedings, which Judge Natalie LeBlanc accepted, deeming him fit.
She also deemed Fitzpatrick not criminally responsible and remanded him once again to Restigouche, referring his case to the New Brunswick review board.
The review board oversees the cases and dispositions of unwell offenders who couldn’t appreciate the nature of their criminal actions.
A disposition hearing to determine if Fitzpatrick should be released back into the community unconditionally or conditionally, or if he should continue with in-patient treatment, will be held within the next 45 days.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Just a gentle reminder that one can be a person with schizophrenia as opposed to being a schizophrenic.