Curtis Sagmoen, accused of threatening a sex worker with a shotgun, had one of several charges he’s facing acquitted in Vernon court Wednesday.
Justice Alison Beames acquitted the charge of uttering threats Dec. 18, following the complainant’s testimony yesterday.
The complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, was unable to recall having heard her assailant say anything.
The Crown and defence both agreed the charge should be dropped.
The complainant recounted a night in August 2017, on Tuesday, when she was allegedly threatened with a firearm by a man on Salmon River Road — after she’d received a text responding to her ad on an online escort service, asking for a “playdate.”
The complainant agreed to meet up that night.
When the complainant arrived at Salmon River Road, she received another text. The person she was scheduled to meet said he mistakenly gave her his old address, and he now resided further up the road. She drove to the new location, following the person’s texted instructions.
The complainant said she stopped in front of a bridge on a driveway, which was blocked by a closed gate. She got out of her car and heard a rustling in the bushes before a man emerged holding a gun.
The woman had to race to her vehicle but the man was in tow, she said he came to the driver’s side of the vehicle and pointed the weapon through the open window. She reportedly pushed the gun away with her hand and escaped the vehicle and ran, barefoot, and hid near a neighbouring property until daybreak. She said she had lost her sandals during the incident.
“I was afraid he was going to shoot me,” she said yesterday. “I’m forever grateful that I’m not dead.”
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