OSOYOOS TIMES-October 7, 2009

By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times

Police have released more information about the man accused of attacking a former Osoyoos councillor with a hatchet on Sept. 22.
Louis Joseph Lemay, 50, is charged with assault, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence after allegedly swinging a hatchet at Allan Carswell at the Haynes Point Provincial Park boat launch.
Carswell was not seriously injured and only received a few scratches to his face.
He was able to restrain the suspect until police arrived and the suspect was arrested minutes after the attack.
Police said they believe this was a targeted attack and they had been concerned in the days leading up to the attack that Lemay might target someone in the community in retaliation for recent problems in his life.
Cpl. Jason Bayda, a spokesman for the Osoyoos-Oliver RCMP, said several days prior to the attack, police received a call that the suspect was attempting to enter the U.S. at the Osoyoos border crossing but was turned away.
After he was turned away, Bayda said, some of the suspect’s writings were found at the border and were passed along to police.
The writings allegedly included comments that the suspect was upset with some people in Osoyoos who had done him wrong, namely the RCMP.
In June, the RCMP had been called to Desert Park by the Town of Osoyoos’s bylaw officer to help remove the accused from a tack room in a barn where he had been staying.
Bayda said the accused was upset with police for having him removed from the park.
The suspect was arrested and charged with uttering threats towards the bylaw officer during the incident.
The only person mentioned by name in the suspect’s writings was an RCMP member present when the suspect was released from jail cells in Oliver after being removed from the park, Bayda said.
Bayda added, however, that the suspect wrote that he realized he would not be able to carry out any acts of harm towards the police.
Nevertheless, police did contact the bylaw officer to advise him to keep his eyes open.
After the writings were found, police were actively looking for the suspect at Desert Park, in case he returned to the barn, as well as other area parks.
Bayda said police would not have been able to arrest him, but could have taken him into custody under the Mental Health Act for a psychological assessment.
The suspect had also allegedly written down a date when he was planning to harm someone, Bayda added, but the alleged attack on Carswell happened two weeks after that date.
A witness to the alleged attack said she believes the suspect may blame Carswell for his eviction from Desert Park earlier this summer.
Carswell is the president of the South Interior Equine Recreational Centre (SIREC), which currently runs the park.
Members of SIREC, who agreed to speak to the Osoyoos Times on condition of anonymity, said when members of their organization arrived at the park in March to begin revitalization efforts on the grounds, they found Lemay staying in a stall in the main barn.
They said he told them he was a fruit picker.
The members said they had considered allowing Lemay to stay to keep an eye on the facility when no one else was around in case of fire or theft.
They described him as tidy and said he had been in Osoyoos for at least 12 years.
At first SIREC allowed him to move into to a shed until he found a picking job but he allegedly became abusive with SIREC members.
Eventually the Town insisted that he leave the property, leading to the incident with the bylaw officer and police on June 30.
Lemay is currently in police custody pending a psychological assessment.
He is scheduled to next appear in Penticton provincial court on Oct. 22.
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