Court orders psychological evaluation for accused church vandal

The man accused of spray painting a number of churches and the headquarters of the Saskatoon Police Service will undergo a psychological evaluation before his court case can proceed.

36-year-old Amir Bozorgmehr will need to be evaluated to determine if he’s fit to understand the proceedings of the court and whether he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the alleged offenses, Crown prosecutor John Knox told 650 CKOM.

Bozorgmehr has been arrested several times this month for allegedly vandalizing churches with anti-gay messages using bright orange spray paint. His most recent arrest was May 13, after police discovered a man throwing rocks at their headquarters. According to police, they found the man to be in possession of orange spray paint. Bozorgmehr then told officers that he had spray painted several more churches.

In all, six religious buildings were vandalized. Bozorgmehr is now facing numerous charges of mischief, including mischief for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on religion. He’s also charged with breaching court-ordered conditions.

Knox said the psychological evaluations typically take about a month to complete, meaning Bozorgmehr was remanded for 30 days. While the reports are typically completed at the Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford, Knox said Bozorgmehr’s evaluation will be done by video due to the restrictions around COVID-19.

“His return date is June 12,” Knox said. “And we expect to have the report by then.”