Judge cites ‘substantial risk to public’ in denying bid for bail

A man accused of threatening to kill or hurt several people, including staff at a Brandon health clinic, was denied bail in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Thursday.

Christopher Purdy, 30, is charged with three counts of uttering threats, along with several other offences, including assault, failure to comply with court orders and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

The Crown opposed the accused’s release, citing concerns over the risk he would pose to the public.

Crown attorney Nikki Boggs detailed the allegations, which haven’t been proven in court.

On March 24, the Brandon Police Service received a report from a staff member of the Salvation Army Brandon Community Church. The woman said Purdy had threatened and screamed at staff, Boggs said.

Police found Purdy walking outside of the church after receiving another call about a man “yelling while walking down the street,” Boggs said.

Brandon police arrested Purdy under the Mental Health Act and the following day, took statements from two women who are Salvation Army staff members.

They said they were familiar with Purdy and alleged he showed up at the church and one of the women opened the door for him. After making some abnormal comments, he allegedly pushed past the woman and proceeded to scream and make threats.

“(He) stated, ‘I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you all,’” Boggs said. She said he also threatened to kill himself.

Boggs said he punched a wall and “swung” at one of the employees like he was going to hit her before storming off.

Police also received a report of a man who didn’t pay for his taxi fare after he told the driver he would grab money from his residence and never came back, Boggs said. After further investigation, police believed the man to be Purdy.

On March 31, police arrested Purdy for assault, uttering threats and fraudulently obtaining transportation after they found him on Percy Street.

The Crown consented to Purdy’s release on several conditions the next day.

On May 4, a staff member at 7th Street Health Access Centre reported that Purdy had called the centre and left a voicemail threatening to “hurt every f—ing one of you,” the Crown said.

Later that day, Purdy came to the centre and was “verbally aggressive” to the woman who previously called police, court heard.

Police found and arrested him on May 17. During his arrest, Boggs said police found a knife in his pocket. His bail order included a condition that prohibited him from having weapons.

He was released on May 19 and arrested again after he breached a court order that he not attend Prairie Mountain Health. He also allegedly threatened to kill the security officer who asked him to leave.

“We … have a wide range of places that he’s attending. He’s causing disturbances,” Boggs said.

The Crown said Purdy should be kept in custody for the protection of the parties involved and the public in general, as he “seems to be sporadic in his level of offending.”

Defence lawyer Andrew Synyshyn said he implored the government to consider expanding mental-health court services to Brandon and that “this is exactly the type of case which I would suggest is right for that.”

“Right now, our system, our criminal justice system, does not have the tools … to connect Mr. Purdy with a mental-health worker, a social worker and other trustees that can assist him,” he said.

Purdy has no criminal record, and it seemed his circumstances have been “deteriorating” over the last few years, Synyshyn said.

He suggested Purdy may be experiencing late-onset schizophrenia, which may have factored into the allegations.

He said Purdy has since been evicted from his residence and has expressed frustration over not knowing where to go for public health access if he can’t go to The Town Centre or 7th Street Access Health Centre.

Synyshyn said his client does not have an address he can reside at, but he would follow conditions that he does not contact the complainants or attend their workplaces. He said he would follow conditions that he contact Housing First within seven days of his release, along with schedule a mental-health assessment.

“There are very likely some significant mental-health issues here,” Judge Lisa LaBossiere said.

The judge said she recognized that there are gaps in the system and jail may not be the right place for Purdy, but was concerned for the public’s safety and releasing him on the proposed bail plan would be “a substantial risk to the public.”

Purdy will appear in court again next Thursday.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com