Nanaimo man charged with randomly killing senior wants to represent himself in court
A Nanaimo, B.C., man charged with killing a beloved senior has told a judge he either wants to represent himself in court or have a very specific lawyer appointed to him.
James Carey Turok, 29, has been charged with second degree murder in connection with the random killing of a well-known Nanaimo coffee shop employee.
Police were called to Buzz Coffee House near the intersection of Rutherford Road and the Island Highway on the morning of Feb. 12.
Officers found Eric Kutzner, 79, dead inside the shop. They also found another man inside and arrested him immediately.
Before a Nanaimo judge Wednesday morning, Turok told the court he wanted to dismiss the lawyer appointed to him.
He said he either wanted to represent himself, or have an Indigenous female lawyer appointed to him.
The judge told him that was a very specific request and recommended he connect with legal aid to start his search.
Sounding confused via a video call from the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre, Turok also said he didn’t know where he was or what he’d been charged with.
The 29-year-old also told the court he wanted to be charged with high treason.
After calming the accused down, the judge explained what Turok had been charged with, where he was, and how serious the offense is.
Turok’s outgoing lawyer said he would recommend a mental fitness assessment to the court if he was still involved.
At this point in proceedings the judge was pushing to simply get Turok a bail hearing as soon as possible and didn’t address any mental health issues.
Crown counsellors also asked the judge for more time to assess disclosure documents that had just been released to them by Nanaimo RCMP investigators.
The judge agreed to push Turok’s proceedings until Feb. 28.
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