Arraignment hearings in Lequiere death case held over to September

David Bell Photo

Jim and Cheryl Lequiere, whose son was murdered on May 20, speak with media Wednesday after arraignment hearings for the two accused in their son’s murder were adjourned until Sept. 1.

Arraignment hearings have been postponed until Sept. 1 for Andre Paul Dupas and Pamela Joy Moore, the two accused in the May 20 death of 28-year-old Fort St. John man Joshua James Lequiere.

Crown prosecutor Paul Swartz said the additional time was needed to allow the criminal justice branch to properly vet, edit and redact the approximately 3,300 pages of RCMP investigation material for privacy concerns.

“These kinds of cases involve voluminous materials,” Swartz said.

He said the Crown received a digital copy of the investigation about 10 days ago and the editing was expected to be complete around Aug. 20, at which time it could be forwarded to defence lawyers in the case.

Dupas, 31 at the time of the incident, appeared via videolink from Prince George and Moore, at the time 28, appeared from Burnaby.

Dupas has been charged with second-degree murder and Moore with accessory after the fact to murder.

Moore’s defence lawyer Sigrid Thompson indicated to Justice of the Peace Faye Campbell that Moore has been “fully co-operative” all along, including turning herself in shortly after Lequiere’s death.

Lequiere was found bleeding from multiple stab wounds in his parked vehicle at 6 a.m. on May 20 in the parking lot of an apartment building on 93A Street. He was taken to hospital but later died from his injuries.

Thompson said Moore was scheduled for a polygraph test Tuesday, but Thompson was unaware if the testing took place or what the results were.

Bail hearings have yet to take place.

Campbell agreed that the additional time was appropriate and the arraignment hearings were adjourned until Sept. 1 at 1:30 p.m.

Lequiere’s parents, Jim and Cheryl, said they are hopeful for a positive outcome.

“We have our days, it is day to day,” Jim said.

“But just with the sheer support that we have had from the community, our co-workers and Fort St. John in general, it has been awesome, it has just been overwhelming.”

Supporters of the family filled the courtroom wearing shirts with an image of Lequiere and his four-year-old son.

“This is a photograph of Josh when we were houseboating in the Shuswaps and that is his little son, Carver James,” Jim explained.

“It was our parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and we all went houseboating,” Cheryl added.

Jim said the death of his son should not have happened here.

“When you have a murder like that in a community like Fort St. John, that kind of stuff is not supposed to happen. That is why we chose to raise our kids here, to live here and to work here,” he said.

“Because it is supposed to be a safe community.”

Cheryl said her son was a popular young man.

“Our son had a lot of friends from all different walks of life. He accepted everybody for who they were and he is really missed.”

Jim said many people are looking forward to justice being served.

“He had over 1,000 people at his memorial service and there are over 1,100 people on his Facebook page. Everybody on that page has a beautiful story about how Josh touched them or said a kind word, that really made their day,” he said.

“Lots of friends and family will continue to support Josh until we get justice.”

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