The man accused of shooting at Chilliwack RCMP officers during an hours-long Victoria Day standoff doesn鈥檛 appear to want his day in court.
Daniel Hackl was due to appear by video at the Chilliwack Law Courts Tuesday (May 30) for a bail hearing. The 29-year-old is being held at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre. Inmates are ushered into a video room for their appearance and then taken back to their cell. When Hackl鈥檚 name was called, the court was told he was refusing to come out of his cell.
Crown prosecutor Grant Lindsey suggested bumping the bail review to Monday (June 5) when the accused will maybe feel more cooperative, but it doesn鈥檛 seem likely. This is the second court appearance Hackl has tanked since being arrested on May 22 following an incident in which he allegedly fired shots at police during a standoff at a home on the corner of Queen Street and Knight Road.
Sheriffs had trouble getting him out of his cell at the Chilliwack Law Courts on May 24, and when they finally coaxed him into the courtroom he refused to give his name. B.C. Provincial Judge Kristen Mundstock twice asked him to identify himself and he would not. His only reply was 鈥淚 have no name.鈥�
The matter was pushed back a week so Hackl could consider his options.
Defence lawyer Ondine Snowden was present at that first court date, but Hackl didn鈥檛 have a lawyer present Tuesday. He faces one count of discharging a firearm with intent to wound or disfigure.
At 2:15 p.m. on Victoria Day, police responded to a report of a distraught man with access to several firearms. Police arrived at the Queen Street home and remained on the scene most of the afternoon until about 7:45 p.m. when the incident escalated. That鈥檚 when neighbours say they heard gunshots, and police say shots were fired at them.
Hackl was arrested approximately 10 hours later and the house he was in went up in flames around midnight, with no explanation yet about what caused the fire. Firefighters were back on the scene before 9 a.m. the next day dousing hot spots, and they reportedly found shell casings at the scene.
- With files from Paul Henderson/Jenna Hauck
eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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