James Carey Turok will be evaluated at a psychiatric hospital to determine if he's fit to stand trial. Turok is charged with second degree murder following a homicide at Buzz Coffee House in Nanaimo on Feb. 12. (Facebook/NanaimoNewsNOW Photo)

By Ian Holmes

psych assessment

Psychiatric evaluation ordered for man accused of Nanaimo coffee shop homicide

Mar 14, 2022 | 6:19 AM

NANAIMO — A month-long psychiatric assessment will help guide the next legal steps in the case of a shocking murder at a Nanaimo coffee shop.

A provincial court judge accepted an application by James Carey Turok’s lawyer to have him evaluated to determine if he is fit to stand trial, during a Friday, March 11 hearing in Nanaimo.

Turok, 29, was charged with second degree murder a day following the death of a 79-year-old man at Buzz Coffee House on Rutherford Rd. on the morning of Feb. 12.

The virtually conducted hearing ordered Turok to be assessed in-person at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam.

The review must take place prior to a potential bail hearing, which would be heard by a B.C. Supreme Court Judge.

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Turok will remain in custody throughout and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on April 11 after the report’s findings are complete.

During the application hearing Turok took aim at the legal and medical system.

“The whole legal system is flawed, I mean the medical system doesn’t even respect my truth and I’ve been incarcerated in psychiatric units since 2012,” Turok said from the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Saanich.

Police could not establish a clear link between the accused and victim Eric Kutzner, a beloved staff member of Buzz Coffee House.

Nanaimo RCMP described the incident as completely random, which took place as the business was about to open for customers on a Saturday morning.

The family-owned coffee house at Long Lake Plaza remains closed more than a month following Kutzner’s death, who was pronounced dead on scene. Police said Turok was found inside the business when they arrived for a check-wellbeing call.

An online fundraiser campaign to support the business through the closure has already amassed more than $17,000.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes