TIMMINS - A man accused of murder and attempted murder in the Timmins area appeared in court today and identified himself as “the messenger of the covenant.”
Lucas MacDonald, who was the subject of a weeks-long manhunt, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marcel Thoma and attempted murder with a firearm in the shooting of an OPP officer during his arrest three weeks later.
The Ontario Court of Justice has ordered another fitness assessment for the 43-year-old, who appeared virtually from Monteith Correctional Complex on Nov. 26 at roughly 9:40 a.m. He wore an orange jumpsuit and looked dishevelled as he identified himself as “the messenger of the covenant.”
A fitness assessment is carried out by mental health professionals to make sure a person is capable of defending themselves against the charges and communicating with their lawyer about their case.
Justice Michel Robert Labelle said an in-person assessment of MacDonald’s fitness to stand trial needs to be conducted in the next 30 days.
A virtual assessment by the North Bay Regional Hospital had not been successful.
Thoma was reported missing on May 18, 2024, and his body was found in the woods in Egan Township, southwest of Matheson, on May 23.
A weeks-long manhunt that stretched from Matheson to the far east end of Timmins led police to MacDonald. During his arrest on June 12, 2024, he allegedly shot at OPP officers on Night Hawk Lake. One officer was shot in the exchange of gunfire.
A recent Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report cleared officers of any wrongdoing in the incident.
MacDonald will next appear in court on Dec. 24 at 9:30 a.m.
