Curtis Sagmoen, 38, was found guilty of threatening a sex worker with a firearm, with his sentence based on time already served plus 36 months of probation.
Justice Alison Beames found Sagmoen, who lived near Falkland, guilty of disguising his face with intent to commit an indictable offence, use of a firearm during an indictable offence and possession of methamphetamine.
He was found not guilty of uttering threats and intentionally discharging a firearm.
Sagmoen has been sentenced to two years minus one day, but his time served since his September 2017 arrest credits him with three years and three months.
Sagmoen still faces an assault charge that will see him return to court in February. Immediately after Friday’s sentencing he was quickly granted bail on that charge, so he’s free to walk this afternoon.
Conditions of his probation order include that he must have no contact with any sex workers, no contact with the complainant and and a ban from websites advertising or soliciting escort services.
Justice Beames accepted the joint sentencing submission Crown counsel and the defence lawyer.
The Crown is seeking just under two years incarceration and 36 months probation for Sagmoen’s three counts found guilty this morning.
— Brendan Shykora (@brendanshykora) December 20, 2019
She delivered her decision Friday, Dec. 20, in B.C. Supreme Court in Vernon following a three-week trial.
Accused of threatening a sex worker with a shotgun in August 2017 and in custody since then, Sagmoen had one charge of uttering threats dropped Wednesday.
READ MORE: WATCH: Protesters stand steadfast throughout Sagmoen trial
Justice Beames dropped the charge Dec. 18, following the complainant’s testimony.
The complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, was unable to recall having heard her assailant say anything.
The complainant recounted the night in August, on Tuesday, when she was allegedly threatened with a firearm by a man on Salmon River Road — after she’d received a text responding to her ad on an online escort service, asking for a “playdate.”
The complainant agreed to meet up that night.
When the complainant arrived at Salmon River Road, she received another text.
The person she was scheduled to meet said he mistakenly gave her his old address, and he now resided further up the road.
She drove to the new location, following the person’s texted instructions.
The complainant said she stopped in front of a bridge on a driveway, which was blocked by a closed gate.
She got out of her car and heard a rustling in the bushes before a man emerged holding a gun.
The woman had to race to her vehicle but the man pursued her.
She said he came to the driver’s side of the vehicle and pointed the weapon through the open window.
She reportedly pushed the gun away with her hand and escaped the vehicle and ran, barefoot, and hid near a neighbouring property until daybreak.
She said she had lost her sandals during the incident.
“I was afraid he was going to shoot me,” she said yesterday. “I’m forever grateful that I’m not dead.”
In October 2017, the Sagmoen family property became the subject of an extensive search.
The remains of Traci Genereaux were found on the Salmon River Road property.
Throughout the trial, several protesters have made their voices heard on the steps of the Vernon Law Courts, bearing signs and chanting slogans in remembrance of Genereaux, and calling for justice for all missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Chants of “gone, but not forgotten,” “our sisters deserve justice,” and “all women’s lives are sacred,” rang out from the stairs outside the Vernon courthouse.
No charges have yet been laid in connection with Genereaux’s death.
“I feel there would have been better justice served if Sagmoen would have went to court rather than waited,” activist and protester Jody Leon said following the Sagmoen trial verdict.
“I think they need to speed the process up for women; to have specialized courts for victims of violence so there is no delays,” she said.
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