Accused of attempted murder after an apparently random shooting of an innocent man in the Chilliwack River Valley, Peter Anthony Kampos was determined fit to stand trial last fall and that trial began.
Then, when his defence counsel decided he may not be fit, he was indeed declared unfit by a judge in December.
And then a review board at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH) in Coquitlam deemed him fit, which triggered another fitness hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
That hearing ran March 14 and 15, after which Kampos was again deemed unfit to stand trial.
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| Peter Anthony Kampos |
The legal yo-yo regarding the mental health of this man accused of a violent crime has gone on for months and sees no end in sight.
Kampos is charged with shooting Cameron Rose while the young man sat in his car in the Chilliwack River Valley on March 25, 2017. Rose was hit in the shoulder, and managed to escape the scene, driving down the road only to find military personnel on an exercise who helped him.
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Kampos is charged with attempt murder with a firearm; discharging a firearm with intent to wound/disfigure; and intentionally discharging a firearm into or at a place, knowing that or being reckless as to whether another person is present in the place.
What Kampos is not charged with is an alleged shooting spree over a 14-hour period at commercial vehicles in various communities between Terrace and the Lower Mainland just one day before the Chilliwack River Valley incident.
In those shootings, a blue Dodge Caliber with Ontario licence plates was reported in the area, a vehicle with the same description as at the Chilliwack River Valley shooting.
Crown said there was not enough evidence to proceed on charges related to those shootings.
As for Kampos, his mental health has been in question for some time having been diagnosed as schizophrenic in Kamloops years ago.
His father Vaclav Kampos told The Progress that his son thinks the Earth is being attacked by aliens, that he can recognize those aliens in human form, and it’s his duty to eliminate them.
During the court process, Kampos has expressed hallucinations and paranoia about those involved.
Crown counsel John Lester said after the fitness hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on March 15, that the treating psychiatrist determined Kampos is fit for trial, but the psychiatrist retained by Crown said he’s not fit.
The judge that day determined on a balance of probabilities that he is indeed unfit. That means he goes back to the FPH and will be reassessed likely within two months before his next court appearance on May 29.
He is apparently getting better suffering from fewer hallucinations while in treatment, so there is a chance the trial will one day continue or restart.
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