A Saskatchewan man serving life in prison for killing two RCMP officers is fighting to keep ownership of the truck he was driving when he fired the fatal shots. Curtis Dagenais, 61, is serving three life sentences. He was convicted in 2009 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Dagenais shot and killed RCMP constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages and wounded Const. Michelle Knopp during a police chase on a rural road northwest of Saskatoon in 2006. He was driving a blue 1986 GMC pickup truck at the time. The vehicle has remained in RCMP storage since the shooting. The Crown is seeking forfeiture of the truck — meaning Dagenais would lose his ownership rights and the vehicle could be destroyed. Dagenais appeared by video conference from Saskatchewan Penitentiary for Monday’s hearing at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench. He argued that he should retain ownership of the truck. “There’s a lot of value in parts,” Dagenais told the court. “Bring it back to my farm, or I can get it picked up if it’s in their way.” Dagenais argued self-defence at his 2009 trial, testifying that the officers shot at him first and that he returned fire because he feared for his life. The jury rejected that argument. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld his convictions in 2012. During Monday’s hearing, Dagenais suggested the truck continues to have evidentiary value. “They don’t want to risk any other member of the public laying eyes on that truck, seeing all the police-bullet holes,” he said. Crown prosecutor Scott Bartlett noted that the 40-year-old truck is severely damaged and “would never pass an inspection.” Bartlett said the vehicle has been a liability in police custody for the past two decades. ‘My patience is starting to wear a little thin’ Dagenais told the court he has struggled to arrange a meeting with his lawyer and asked Justice Daryl Labach to adjourn the hearing. He had already been granted an adjournment in June. Bartlett opposed the request. “I’m looking for a reason for us to believe that if we adjourn it one more time, that something would be different,” Bartlett said. Labach noted that while the matter is not complicated, it can be difficult for an incarcerated person to meet with a lawyer. “The court wants to give Mr. Dagenais every opportunity to be able to make the arguments he wants to make,” the judge said. He granted the adjournment, but warned that the hearing will proceed on Oct. 19 — whether Dagenais has a lawyer or not. “There will be no further adjournments ... My patience is starting to wear a little thin,” Labach said.
