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Man pleads not guilty to attempted murder of RCMP officer near Argenta

Harry Richardson was arrested after a standoff last October
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Harry Richardson pled not guilty at the Nelson courthouse to attempted murder of an RCMP officer. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

A man who allegedly shot an RCMP officer last year near Argenta has pled not guilty to four charges including attempted murder.

Harry Richardson was arrested Oct. 11 at a remote cabin after a lengthy standoff that included his alleged shooting of an officer.

Last week, Richardson pled not guilty to attempted murder with a firearm. He also declined to enter pleas on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm, careless use or storage of a firearm, and being in a dwelling-house without lawful excuse. Because he didn’t enter a plea, the court defaulted his charges to not guilty.

Richardson, who is representing himself, elected to have a provincial court trial without a jury in Nelson. That trial, which Judge Philip Seagram said could take 15 days, has not yet been scheduled.

Richardson also has two other trials currently scheduled. In April, he’ll be in Nelson provincial court facing a charge of wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer related to an incident last September in Argenta.

He will also be in a Nakusp court room on May 22 for an assault charge related to a September incident in Slocan.

During his appearance Monday, Richardson asked that he not be held in the Nakusp RCMP’s detachment cells ahead of his May trial. He did not elaborate on the request, but Seagram said he would consider an alternative.

RCMP have said Richardson was approached Oct. 10 in Argenta by officers executing an arrest warrant. When confronted, Richardson allegedly fled to a nearby cabin and fired shots, one of which injured an officer.

He stayed in the cabin overnight through to the next afternoon until finally surrendering himself to custody.



tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com

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Tyler Harper

About the Author: Tyler Harper

I’m editor-reporter at the Nelson Star, where I’ve worked since 2015.
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