Lawyer who attacked 80-year-old with knife in Deep Cove pleads guilty
See more sharing options
Send this page to someone via email
Share this item on Twitter
Share this item via WhatsApp
Share this item on Facebook
A North Vancouver lawyer who attacked an 80-year-old man with a knife in Deep Cove last year has pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
Alexander Currie admitted to attacking the senior on May 25, 2024, slashing his motorcycle helmet and narrowly missing causing him serious injury.
On Wednesday, he entered guilty pleas to assault with a weapon, uttering threats and mischief.
Currie had initially been charged with attempted murder.
0:56
Knife-wielding North Vancouver man facing charges after Deep Cove incident
The court heard that he was having a manic episode at the time of the attack. Currie has a history of mental illness, but hadn't suffered an episode in 17 years.
Story continues below advertisement
The knife attack victim read a statement to the court, describing it as terrifying, after which Currie apologized for the trauma he'd caused.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The Crown and defence made a joint submission to the court, calling for a conditional discharge and citing Currie's lack of a criminal record and his determination to rebuild his life.
The judge will hand down the sentence on June 13th.
With files from Rumina Daya
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Police investigating after vehicle crashes into Cirque du Soleil arena in Vancouver
VANCOUVER – Vancouver police say it's a 'miracle' no one was injured after a vehicle crashed into the Pacific Coliseum arena on Thursday evening. Police say a vehicle drove into the front entrance of the building around 8 p.m. while a Cirque du Soleil show was taking place. They say a 30-year-old Vancouver man has been arrested under the Mental Health Act and the crash does not appear to be an act of terrorism. In a post to social media platform X, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says he's grateful that no one was hurt. Sgt. Steve Addison told Global News that police don't believe there's a link between this and the Lapu Lapu Day Festival attack in Vancouver. The ramming attack at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival on April 26 killed 11 people and injured dozens more. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
More Montreal business owners facing extortion, police say
Montreal police arrested 13 people in connection with a series of extortion crimes targeting the owners of two downtown Montreal restaurants earlier this week. Eight men and two women between the ages of 28 and 44 are said to be involved in two independent crime organizations. The extortion targeted the owners of two restaurants in the downtown Ville-Marie borough stemming back to last fall. 'The investigation wasn't focused on the people who did the crimes, but on a higher level for the criminals,' said SPVM Cmdr. Pierre-Marc Houle. Thirteen arrests were made following an extensive investigation that involved multiple jurisdictions including the Sureté du Québec. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Fifteen warrants were executed mostly in Montreal and also in Laval and Châteauguay,' said Houle. Story continues below advertisement Montreal police say extortion is nothing new but there has been an uptick in this type of crime since the pandemic, which they say they are monitoring closely. 'We encourage business owners speak up with the SPVM if they have any information to give to us,' added Houle. Alia Hassan Cournol, councillor for Hochelaga Maisonneuve, said the city is working closely with the merchant's associations and the police. 'For both our administration and the SPVM. it's a priority,' said Hassan Cournol. 'Business owners need to reach out to the SPVM, that's really important. The more data they have, the more tactical they are on the ground.' The incidents also serve as a reminder of how important it is to invest in the city's youth population. 'Investing in infrastructure, investing in believing in the younger crowd and giving them space,' said Hassan Cournol. Opposition leader for Ensemble Montréal, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, believes these types of crimes are completely unacceptable. 'It has to be tolerance zero and people need to feel safe, to call the police and say what's happening,' she said during a press conference Thursday morning. Montreal police say investigations are ongoing. Police are also looking into other recent incidents, including last week's firebombing of two restaurants and one coffee shop targeted by mistake.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Drunk driver ‘detonated bomb inside family'
The daughter of a 28-year-old mother of four killed by a drunk driver cried as she told a Winnipeg court how her family was 'destroyed' by the July 2021 highway collision. 'There is a part of me that wants to scream at you, freak out, tell you how much I hate you, but even that doesn't feel strong enough,' the now 17-year-old told Chantelle Deprez. 'You didn't just steal a life — you detonated a bomb inside a family and walked away alive.' Deprez, 37, previously pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death for the crash that claimed the life of Angelina Wiens. She was sentenced Monday to three years in prison. Since Wiens' death, her four children have been separated — her young son now lives with his father, while his three sisters live with an aunt and her family. 'I love my cousins and my auntie and uncle, but it is not the same without my mom,' Wiens' youngest, now 11-year-old daughter wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court. 'It's not fair, she was very young,' the girl said. 'She could have had a great future and a longer life if you weren't drinking.' Support letters from family friends and her employer described Deprez as a good person, great mother and valued employee. Five of seven support letters, as well as a psychiatrist report, described the crash as an 'accident.' King's Bench Justice Ken Champagne said there was nothing accidental about someone getting behind the wheel after drinking. 'It is not an accident — it is a serious crime… an all-too prevalent crime that causes more deaths in Canada than any other crime,' often committed by otherwise law-abiding people with no criminal records, Champagne said. Champagne rejected a recommendation from defence lawyer Jay Prober that Deprez be sentenced to two years house arrest, ruling a 'significant' sentence was necessary to satisfy the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation 'and more importantly send a message to the community at large that this kind of criminal conduct is unacceptable.' Court heard Deprez was behind the wheel of a 1998 Ford Explorer, heading north on Highway 6 in the RM of St Laurent at about 11:30 p.m., when she veered into the southbound lane and into the path of Wiens' 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck. Wiens 'was able to try an evasive manoeuvre; she braked, she tried to go on to the shoulder, but it just wasn't enough, the accused was too far over,' Crown attorney Thomas Boulton told court. Deprez did not try to apply the brakes or veer out of the way and collided with the front right side of Wiens' truck, sending both vehicles spinning. Emergency responders had to extract Wiens from her vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She wasn't wearing a seat belt. Deprez was taken by air ambulance to Health Sciences Centre with a broken leg and hip and collapsed lung. She spent 12 days in hospital and was in a wheelchair for four months. According to a pre-sentence report, Deprez told a probation officer that prior to the collision she had been watching movies at a friend's house and had one glass of wine before leaving to drive home to Winnipeg. But according to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Deprez told an air ambulance paramedic she had four glasses of wine prior to the collision. Medical records later obtained by police showed Deprez would have had an estimated blood-alcohol level of .246 at the time of the collision, more than triple the legal limit for driving. Deprez told a probation officer she continued to drink following her arrest, which court heard was in violation of a bail condition set by Champagne prohibiting her from consuming alcohol. Prober argued Deprez did not remember the bail condition and was not consciously flouting Champagne's order, which he accepted. Following the collision, Deprez was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. A psychiatric report described her as an 'emotional invalid.' Deprez hasn't driven since the collision 'and may never drive again,' Prober said, adding she was 'genuinely remorseful' and that she pleaded guilty in the face of a problematic Crown case. None of the paramedics who treated Deprez said they saw any signs she was impaired, he said. A crash reconstruction report, meanwhile, made reference to police finding open containers of alcohol in Wiens' truck and detecting the smell of marijuana. Wiens was a suspended driver at the time. Deprez apologized to Wiens' family, saying she was 'extremely sorry' for her decision to drink and drive. 'I am a mother as well, so I sympathize with you 100 per cent,' she said. 'I'm not taking any of this lightly. I wish none of this ever happened.' Champagne prohibited Deprez from driving for five years following the completion of her prison sentence. Dean PritchardCourts reporter Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean. Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
