Curtis Sagmoen’s trial on a charge of assaulting a police officer has been put off until May.
The North Okanagan man’s latest trial would have been concluded by now if not for an adjournment granted to defence lawyer Lisa Helps, who argued that she needed more time to prepare after receiving hundreds of pages of late disclosure documents from Crown counsel, many of which have information that could alter the defence.
Judge Jeremy Guild granted the adjournment Tuesday, March 8, and the trial will resume on May 3.
Sagmoen is accused of assaulting a police officer while being placed under arrest in October 2020 at the Salmon River Road farm property where he resides. Police were there to execute a search warrant and it is alleged that Sagmoen, while in handcuffs, lunged at one of the police officers.
It is unclear why police were at the property to execute the warrant, but earlier that month they were alerted to suspicious activity at the farm. Police released a photo of Sagmoen at the time along with a public warning.
Sagmoen has past convictions of crimes against sex trade workers. He was found guilty of wearing a disguise and threatening a sex trade worker with a shotgun on Dec. 20, 2019, but was given time served and 36 months probation.
Sagmoen was then found guilty for the second time in two months (Feb. 11, 2020) when he returned to face an assault charge involving a different woman in the industry. In this case, Sagmoen had caused the woman bodily harm by running over her with an ATV at the Salmon River Road farm.
The Sagmoen farm was the subject of an extensive search in October 2017 after the remains of Traci Genereaux were discovered. Police consider her death suspicious but have yet to lay charges.
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