Kelowna man arrested in court for refusing to give his name

David Darrin Higgs was arrested in Kelowna court today, Oct. 24, for refusing to give his name. Image Credit: Facebook

October 25, 2016 - 10:30 AM

"UM, THAT IS A QUESTION THAT CANNOT BE ASKED OR ANSWERED."

KELOWNA – A Kelowna man will spend at least one night in jail for refusing to give his name in court.

David Darren Higgs, 52, appeared in Kelowna Provincial Court yesterday, Oct. 24, to face charges of causing a disturbance and willfully resisting three peace officers.

Court documents describe his offence as “shouting in public” in Kelowna on Jan. 11, 2016 but when his name was called in court, he was silent.

Higgs refused to identify himself and the judge was forced to issue an unendorsed bench warrant for his arrest. Sheriffs arrested Higgs inside the courtroom and he was placed in a cell until the afternoon when a bail hearing was scheduled. Because the arrest took place in court, a judge had to be brought in from Kamloops to continue.

Although Higgs initially refused to appear at the second hearing, he was eventually brought out dressed in a blue v-neck sweater, blue pants and his long hair in a ponytail.

“Are you David Darren Higgs,” Judge Leonard Marchand asked.

Instead of answering the question, Higgs said he was only appearing under duress. He then asked to see the document that tied him to that name and asked what David Darren Higgs even means.

“Have you ever traveled outside Canada,” Marchand tried again.

“Um, that is a question that cannot be asked or answered,” Higgs said.

Marchand then threatened Higgs with a charge of contempt of court for every day he refuses to identify himself.

“There’s an easy way and there’s a hard way,” he said. “It’s up to you.”

When Higgs claimed to have “a private name that was never registered,” Marchand asked where he was born.

“I was born in a hospital, sir,” he replied.

“Where was that hospital?”

“It’s in around the corporation of Prince George,” he said.

“There was a certificate issued to register your birth, what was that name?”

“Higgs, David Darren, all in upper case. But that’s not who I am. I am a man,” he said.

Crown lawyer David Grabavac said he was at a loss.

“I’ve never asked for (a charge of contempt) as a Crown,” he said. “In 17 years as a Crown in two provinces.”

After making several statements that Marchand called “gibberish”, one of the arresting sheriffs was called to testify. He told Marchand the man in the box was in fact Higgs and the judge ordered him held in custody until a bail hearing can be set.

Higgs appears to be using many of the same failed arguments of the so-called Freemen on the Land, who take extreme views of the law. They dispute modern attempts to create legal identity and often claim governments have no right to collect taxes. While some Freemen have taken violent measures in the past, violence is not typical. Their persuasive attempts to conscript people to their way of thinking, however, has put many in the crosshairs of the Canada Revenue Agency.

Higgs was previously found guilty of failing to correctly state his name and address in Grand Forks in 2014.

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