Keremeos man behind terrifying sledgehammer rampage denied access to Thompson-Okanagan region

Photo: Facebook

Photo of Cameron Urquhart in a photo he posted on Facebook.

A Keremeos man who terrorized and assaulted multiple employees at the Village Hall has been denied access to the Thompson-Okanagan region after seeking permission to travel to the area.

Cameron Urquhart, 44, was declared not criminally responsible for his actions after he stormed into the village office on 4th Street wielding a sledgehammer back in January of 2022.

He was sentenced to serve an indefinite detention order in a Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH), where he has remained since.

According to the decision published recently by the BC Review Board, the last hearing for Urquhart was held Aug. 25, 2023. The board accepted Dr. Dodge’s risk assessment, who is one of Urquhart's treating psychiatrists.

The decision states that Urquhart continued to pose a "significant threat to the public given his serious mental disorder and history of violence, his substance abuse issues, and his periods of non-compliance with medication and treatment while in the community."

According to the decision, while Urquhart had done well at FPH, engaging in programming and remaining abstinent from substance use without incidents of violence, the board said they had concerns.

This includes that "cannabis and illicit drugs remain risk relevant factors that contributed to the index offences and that his abstinence needs to be monitored," as well as his progress being recent, with much of his risk being mitigated by the oversight of his treatment team and FPH staff.

Urquhart was seeking leave in order travel to Kelowna for a family reunion and stay on the outskirts of Keremeos, where his mother resides.

"From a risk perspective, the evidence does not support an overnight leave to attend the family gathering. Mr. Urquhart is under a custody order and has been since he arrived at FPH," the decision states.

Since Urquhart has not transitioned to the community, with only a day leave for up to 10 hours unescorted at the moment, the board said allowing a request to travel for two days to a family gathering where alcohol and cannabis will likely be present does not make sense.

"We are of the view that given the nature of the index offences, Mr. Urquhart should not be allowed in the Thompson-Okanagan region of B.C. that includes the Village of Keremeos," the board said.

"We acknowledge that this condition is new and more restrictive than his last disposition. However, the no go to the region addresses the panel’s concern that there was a prospect that he could be allowed to travel to the region unescorted."

Defence counsel had previously asked the board to craft a no-go condition that prevented him from going through the Village of Keremeos, but allowed him to attend at his mother’s house on the outskirts, which was accepted.

"Crown counsel indicated that the no go to the Village of Keremeos and the fact that a leave to attend the family gathering is in the director’s discretion are sufficient to address any public safety concerns," the decision reads.

It was reported that Urquhart "successfully used his unescorted access to the community on 141 day-leaves for up to 10 hours in duration and again there were no documented concerns."

While the board acknowledged that Urquhart has done well thus far during his unescorted leaves, they said he remains a significant threat and is under a custodial order that will be reviewed in one year.