Lethbridge Courthouse, Lethbridge News NOW

By Lara Fominoff

More time needed

Forensic assessment to continue for Douglas Bagnall

Apr 18, 2019 | 12:40 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A forensic assessment ordered March 1, 2019 for 62-year-old Douglas Bagnall will continue for the next 30 days.

Appearing via CCTV from the Calgary Remand Centre, Bagnall, who is facing several charges in relation to the death of 42-year-old former Pikanii Band Councillor Barney Provost , appeared to acknowledge his surroundings and understand when he needed to appear again in court – even telling Judge M.C. Christopher, “Have a nice day.”

The Crown asked that Bagnall’s bail be revoked, which was also agreed to by an agent representing Bagnall’s St. Alberta area lawyer, William Tatarchuk.

He will be back in court May 22, 2019.

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Once again, Provost’s widow Kristy attended Bagnalls’s court date -as she has each time since his first court appearance – along with a representative from MADD.

Assessment

Crown Counsel Erin Olsen told the court back on March 1, there were serious concerns not only about Bagnall’s overall health, but also whether he may even be fit to stand trial.

Olsen told the judge that they received a call from a psychologist employed at LCC last week, which caused them to become concerned.

She told the court that throughout Bagnall’s stay, he has been in the health unit, and although he had been going through alcoholic withdrawal for the first few weeks while in jail, several other symptoms persisted. They include his inability to understand time or place, his belief that he could simply leave the jail at will and his inability to understand the rules of the facility.

Case History

Bagnall is facing four counts of breach of conditions, one count of impaired driving, one count of impaired driving causing death, and one count of dangerous driving death.

On June 25, 2018, RCMP say a Toyota Corolla driving the wrong way on Highway 3, west of the Highway 509 intersection hit a Chevy Impala, killing the driver and injuring a 12-year-old girl.

Bagnall was not arrested until Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 and was released shortly after that, on several conditions following a bail hearing.

A warrant for his arrest was issued after he failed to attend court in December, but it was held three times. Bagnall also failed to check in with Lethbridge Police as required six times before he was caught. He was arrested Jan. 16, 2019 for breach of conditions.

42-year-old Provost was not only a band councillor, but a teacher and the principle at Tsuut’ina High School who held a master’s degree in education from the University of Lethbridge. He was also an active sobriety advocate.