The man who deliberately hit pedestrians with his van in a small town in the Gaspé, killing three and injuring nine, is asking for a jury trial.
Steve Gagnon briefly appeared at the Amqui courthouse on Wednesday morning. The man faces three counts of premeditated murder and nine counts of attempted murder using a motor vehicle.
Gagnon’s lawyer, Mr.e Hugo Caissy, let it be known that his client wanted a jury trial. The case has been postponed until June 20, since the police evidence is not yet complete.
“In the coming weeks, new elements will be communicated to my colleague as the police investigation progresses”, noted the Crown prosecutor, Mr.e Simon Blanchette.
Steeve Gagnon, who gave himself up to the police in the moments following the attack on Amqui on March 13, is accused of the murders of Gérald Charest, Jean Lafrenière and Simon-Guillaume Bourget.
Gagnon is also charged with nine attempted murders, including two against children. These counts relate to pedestrians who survived the attack. The 12 victims were walking peacefully on the sidewalk in downtown Amqui when a driver driving a van hit them for several tens of meters.
On Wednesday, the 38-year-old man’s lawyer did not request a psychiatric evaluation for his client. He was escorted by special constables immediately after his appearance. He will remain detained at least until his bail hearing.
The ram-truck attack shook the small municipality of some 6,000 inhabitants. Gagnon, a day laborer who was off work for a back injury, grew up in a small village ten minutes away. When passing from The Pressthose who had known him and seen him grow up could not understand how he could have committed such a gesture.