The man who stormed the Village of Keremeos' municipal offices and assaulted staff is barred from returning to the Thompson Okanagan due to posing a "significant risk" according to the BC Review Board. 

Cameron Urquhart was found not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder on Aug. 19, 2022, for the charges of assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, robbery, assault, assaulting a peace officer, forcible entry, mischief, possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, resisting a peace officer and uttering threats. 

All of the charges stemmed from the Jan. 24, 2022 incident where he stormed the town hall with a sledgehammer and concealed knife. 

One of the victims was kicked with spiked shoes that Urquhart was wearing. 

In a recently published Aug. 12, 2024 decision, the BC Review Board conducted a review on Aug. 25, 2023, and received further reports prior to their most recent decision. 

It was noted in the psychiatric reports and the testimony from Dr. Dodge, the psychiatrist overseeing Urquhart's care, that he had improved since the 2022 incident, and that the paranoid delusions which were part of his reasons for the attack had subsided with medication and participation in programming. 

However, Dr. Dodge stated that stress had contributed to the deterioration of Urquhart's mental state and that in the past he had fallen out of regular medication when left on his own. 

"Dr. Dodge told the board that if Mr. Urquhart became unwell his risk to the public would be on the 'serious end'," reads the decision. 

The decision also noted that Urquhart acknowledged his schizoaffective disorder and recognized that it caused delusions, hallucinations and irritability. 

"He said that when he is unwell, he is irritable, acts out and does things he is ashamed about," reads the decision.

"In terms of hallucinations, he saw flashing lights like cameras because he thought he was 'a grand person'.  He feels that his anti-psychotic medication has stabilized him, and he feels grounded."

Despite successful escorted outings and 141 unescorted outings while in treatment at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, the Board was unwilling to give Urquhart any leave to return even to the outskirts of Keremeos where his mother still lives. 

" We are of the view that given the nature of the index offences, Mr. Urquhart should not be allowed in the Thompson Okanagan Region of B.C. that includes the Village of Keremeos," the board wrote. "We acknowledge that this condition is new and more restrictive than his last disposition.  However, the no-go to the region addresses the panel鈥檚 concern that there was a prospect that he could be allowed to travel to the region unescorted."

The board decision also added stipulations requiring that any further unescorted leaves be approved for specific purposes and duration to ensure FPH's director is aware and that his ban on knives is updated to allow for using them while eating or preparing food and while at his current job. 

His case will be up for another review in a year, or earlier if a spot at a community transitional care cottage becomes available.