Curtis Sagmoen
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March 15, 2018 - 6:30 PM
A complex and unfolding investigation into a North Okanagan man has police digging back years.
Yesterday, the RCMP announced that Curtis Wayne Sagmoen, 37, has been charged for a 2013 offence in Maple Ridge. Police have not released specific details about that incident, saying only that it is part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of violence against women.
An exclusive report by CTV News in late 2017 connected Sagmoen to a Jan. 6, 2013 assault in Maple Ridge. Citing from a police report on the incident, CTV reports that officers were called to a townhouse complex for a report of a woman being chased by a man and yelling that he hit her with a hammer. Officers tracked her down, but she didn’t cooperate so charges were never made. The report surmises that the man was ripped off by a known prostitute, and neither of them wanted to pursue the matter. The case was marked unfounded, according to CTV.
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In an email to iNFOnews.ca, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dan Moskaluk says that an unsubstantiated finding refers to “a lack of information and or evidence to further advance an investigation.”
“In any investigation, should new information or evidence be discovered, police may re-examine the available information in its totality. The RCMP would work with the B.C. Prosecution Service to determine whether or not requirements for charge approval are met.”
When asked whether police are reopening any other historical cases as part of the Sagmoen investigation, Moskaluk would not comment directly on the case.
“In any given investigation, past similar unsolved investigations are examined to make a determination of linkages,” he said.
Charges have been piling up against Sagmoen since late last year. In October of 2017, he was charged in connection to an Aug. 27, 2017 incident in which he allegedly disguised his face and threatened an escort with a firearm. While in custody, more charges were approved when additional women came forward with other allegations. Those include a July 1, 2017 incident, when Sagmoen is accused of assaulting a woman at a location described by police as being in close proximity to 2290 Salmon River Road, just north of Vernon. That property is owned by Sagmoen’s parents and was the site of a massive police search in late 2017. The remains of missing Vernon teen Traci Genereaux were discovered on the farm while police were executing the search warrant. No charges have been laid in her suspicious death and police have not linked Sagmoen to the investigation.
"The RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit is continuing their investigation into allegations against Curtis Sagmoen of violence against women," Moskaluk said in a release earlier this week.
Shortly after the alleged July 1 offence, Sagmoen is accused of mischief under $5000 for willfully placing spikes or nails on a board or spike belt to damage the tires of a female complainant’s vehicle on July 19, 2017. The following month, on Aug. 10, 2017Sagmoen allegedly committed an assault causing bodily harm, also in close proximity to the farm.
An iNFOnews.ca exclusive report revealed another woman attended the area after receiving an inquiry on her backpage.ca ad. She wasn’t assaulted, but fled fearing for her life.
Sagmoen goes to trial on the mischief charge in December, and is due for a pair of preliminary inquiries in late 2018 for the July 1, July 19 and Aug. 27 incidents.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Read past coverage here.
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