Curtis Dagenais, who committed a heinous crime by killing two Saskatchewan RCMP officers and injuring another two decades ago, is currently facing a court battle in Saskatoon concerning his truck. The 1986 blue GMC 1500, the vehicle involved in the tragic incident, is currently stored at the RCMP headquarters in Regina. The Crown is seeking to have the truck forfeited and destroyed, a move contested by Dagenais.
The fatal events unfolded on July 6, 2006, when Dagenais, evading arrest by three RCMP constables in Spiritwood, led them on a pursuit that ended tragically. Two constables, Marc Bourdages and Robin Cameron, lost their lives after Dagenais shot them following a collision that pinned his truck against a tree. Another constable, Michelle Knopp, arrived at the scene moments later and was also shot and injured by Dagenais.
In 2009, a jury convicted Dagenais on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He received three life sentences without parole for 25 years. Despite appealing his convictions, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in 2012.
The recent court proceedings regarding Dagenais’s truck have raised questions about the timing of the forfeiture application. The Crown prosecutor, Scott Bartlett, admitted that the application was delayed but eventually filed in 2021. Dagenais, maintaining his innocence, argued against the truck’s destruction, believing that the bullet holes in the vehicle could support his claims. He sought assistance from Innocence Canada, an organization advocating for wrongfully convicted individuals.
After a series of legal developments, the Crown renewed its application for the truck’s forfeiture in May of this year. A hearing took place in June in front of Justice Daryl Labach, with Dagenais participating via video conference from Saskatchewan Penitentiary. Despite his opposition, Dagenais expressed his desire to preserve the truck for further examination.
Labach revealed that Innocence Canada had declined to represent Dagenais, prompting the convict to seek an adjournment to secure legal representation. The judge granted the adjournment, setting the next hearing for August 31 to address the forfeiture issue.