Convicted triple murderer Douglas Garland was transported from the Calgary Remand Centre by ambulance late Friday night following an assault allegedly at the hands of his fellow inmates.
Garland's lawyer, Kim Ross, says his client has been in custody since his arrest in July 2014 and this is the first issue to arise.
“In my conversation with the Remand Centre today, I obviously expressed my concern," said Ross. I can only hope that they will take the appropriate steps having now seen what will happen."
“I am concerned in a sense, and I want to be careful what I see here because I don’t know what happened yet, but I’m sure hoping that this isn’t a case where this matter was allowed to happen.”
Ross says he was in contact with Garland following his sentencing and plans to meet with his client this week to discuss the possibility of an appeal.
EMS Public Education Officer Stuart Brideaux confirms a paramedic crew was called to the Calgary Remand Centre, located in the 12200 block of 85 Street Northwest, at approximately 10:20 p.m. Friday following reports of an assault. The patient, a man in his late 50s, was transported by ambulance to an undisclosed hospital in stable, non-life threatening condition with unspecified soft-tissue injuries.
As of early Saturday afternoon, the victim remained in hospital.
According to police, the 57-year-old victim and the alleged offenders are inmates at the Calgary Remand Centre. Alberta Justice confirms several inmates were responsible for the assault.
Garland had been sentenced to 75 years in prison without parole on Friday afternoon following first degree murder convictions in connection with the deaths of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and the couple’s five-year-old grandson Nathan O’Brien.
The Calgary Police Service continues to investigate Friday's incident alongside the ministry of Alberta Justice and Soliicitor General. Additional details will be released once the responsible parties are charged.
Ross says Garland could elect to sign a waiver to be transferred from the Calgary Remand Centre to prison during the timeframe when an appeal could be initated but he does not foresee his client requesting relocation.