Firearms-Threat Suspect Appears In Court; Protest Held Outside

Photo: About 20 women take part in demonstration on the steps of the Vernon courthouse prior to appearance of Curtis Sagmoen (Kiss FM)

The case of a man accused of threatening a woman with a gun in the North Okanagan has been put over for three weeks.

37 year old Curtis Sagmoen appeared by video in Vernon provincial court today, with his seven charges adjourned to Dec 14.

The charges, which include uttering threats, pointing a firearm, and disguising a face with the intent to commit an offence, date back to August where a sex trade worker had a pre-arranged meeting with a man near Falkland.

No new charges were laid against Sagmoen.

A police search of his parent’s property on Salmon River Road found the remains of 18 year old Traci Genereaux last month.

The charges he’s facing are not connected to that case.

About 20 women opposed to violence against women demonstrated on the steps of the courthouse prior to Sagmoen’s appearance.

Debby Hamilton from the Ending Violence Association of BC was part of the demonstration, seeking an end to violence against women.

“Many years ago — I’ve done this work for 35 years — probably there wouldn’t have been the support for women who were sex workers as there is now. Now there’s a much better understanding, less judgement, and more realization that any of us could be in those shoes,” Hamilton told the media.

Meagan Louis, who advocates for murdered and missing women, says they will continue to hold anti-violence events after Genereaux’s remains were found — one of five women who’ve gone missing since last year.

“We want to spark change and we want to keep the pressure up with the police and the investigators, so it’s important to keep doing these things, and to seek justice and stand up for what’s right,” Louis told Kiss FM.