A man convicted of killing two Saskatchewan RCMP officers is facing a court battle over the fate of his truck, which has been in police custody for 20 years. Curtis Dagenais, who was found guilty of the murders in 2009, is opposing the Crown’s application to have his 1986 blue GMC 1500 forfeited and destroyed.
The tragic incident occurred on July 6, 2006, when Dagenais was involved in a confrontation with three RCMP constables in Spiritwood. During a chase, Dagenais’s truck was rammed by an RCMP vehicle, leading to a fatal shooting that claimed the lives of two officers and left another injured.
Dagenais was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in 2009. Despite his appeals being dismissed in 2012, he continues to maintain his innocence. He believes that the bullet holes in his truck could serve as evidence to support his claims.
The issue of the truck’s forfeiture surfaced when the Crown prosecutor, Scott Bartlett, filed an application in 2021. Dagenais, representing himself in court, expressed his opposition to the destruction of the vehicle, citing the potential evidentiary value of the bullet holes. However, Innocence Canada, an organization Dagenais sought assistance from, declined to represent him.
The court has granted Dagenais an additional adjournment to secure legal representation before the forfeiture hearing scheduled for August 31. Despite ongoing requests for a case review, no new evidence supporting Dagenais’s claims of wrongful conviction has been presented to date.