Despite a court order that Calgary murder suspect Ryan Kinoshita be assessed to determine if he’s not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, none has been done, his lawyer told court Friday.
Defence counsel Allan Fay asked Justice Derek Jugnauth to extend Kinoshita’s psychiatric remand to Alberta Hospital in Edmonton so he can be transported and assessed by doctors there.
Fay told the Calgary Court of King’s Bench judge that he and Crown prosecutor Scott Wilson only learned this week that a March 27, order that Kinoshita be transported to Edmonton for an NCR assessment was never acted upon.
“As a result of discussions with myself and Mr. Wilson, we agreed that it would be appropriate to have Mr. Kinoshita assessed with respect to NCR,” Fay said.
“There was a 60-day order with a direction that Mr. Kinoshita be transported to Edmonton for the purpose of conducting that assessment. Unfortunately just this week we learned that Mr. Kinoshita was never transported.”
Fay said he contacted psychiatric zone chiefs in both Calgary and Edmonton about the lack of transport of his client.
“It became apparent that no paperwork was ever received to have Mr. Kinoshita transported for this assessment.”
The lawyer said the best way to deal with the glitch would be for Jugnauth to order a 30-day extension of his client’s assessment with a new order he be transported to Edmonton so the mental health testing can be completed.
Kinoshita, 31, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the April 8, 2024, stabbing of his landlord, Joel Aaron Clark.
Police said Clark, 46, was fatally stabbed in the home he owned on Prestwick Terrace S.E.
Kinoshita also faces an unrelated charge of aggravated assault and Fay indicated the mental health assessment would be in relation to both charges his client faces.
The case is back in Calgary court next month for an update.
Kinoshita, who remains in custody and was not present in court Friday, is currently scheduled to stand trial at the end of November.