New charges against man who killed 3 Moncton Mounties
The New Brunswick man who killed three Mounties and wounded two others in Moncton nine years ago faces new charges alleging a prison assault.
Justin Christen Bourque, 34, faces charges alleging he committed aggravated assault by wounding Chase Spence and had a weapon on May 3, 2022. The second charge alleges the weapon was a shank, a homemade weapon. Bourque is co-accused with another man.
It's alleged the incident happened in the Atlantic Institution, a maximum security prison in Renous about 30 kilometres southwest of Miramichi.
New Brunswick RCMP said in a statement Thursday that officers from the Blackville detachment were called around 2 p.m. on May 3 last year for a report of an assault at the prison.
Police say a 28-year-old inmate was injured. The inmate was taken to hospital with what were believed to be non-life threatening injuries.
Bourque and the co-accused, a 31-year-old man from Halifax, were charged on Sept. 11 of this year.
Bourque appeared in Miramichi provincial court by video on Thursday.
Case delayed to get lawyer
Bourque, after speaking with duty counsel lawyer Simon Wood, requested an adjournment so he could apply for legal aid representation.
Judge Johanne-Marguerite Landry asked the Crown about its position on whether Bourque would be held while awaiting trial.
Crown prosecutor Melanie MacAulay said the question wasn't an issue at the moment.
"I still have 17 to 16 years," Bourque said, a reference to the time on his sentence for the 2014 shooting.
He said little during the appearance other than to confirm he understood the charges.
The case was adjourned until Dec. 14 to give him time to get a lawyer.
RCMP officers used their vehicle to create a perimeter in Moncton on June 4, 2014. (Marc Grandmaison/Canadian Press)
Bourque fatally shot RCMP constables David Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan and Douglas Larche and wounded constables Darlene Goguen and Eric Dubois in Moncton on June 4, 2014.
Bourque pleaded guilty in 2014 to three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years.
When Bourque was sentenced, the law allowed judges to impose life sentences for multiple murders consecutively instead of concurrently. A Supreme Court of Canada ruling found the 2011 law violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
New Brunswick's Court of Appeal earlier this year reduced his eligibility by 50 years, meaning he could seek parole at age 49.
