FREDERICTON -- There is yet another delay in the case of a Fredericton man accused of murdering two police officers and two civilians in an August shooting spree.
Provincial court Judge Julian Dickson has adjourned the case until next Wednesday for a decision on a request for an assessment to determine if Matthew Raymond is fit to stand trial.
Dickson has imposed a publication ban on any information or arguments dealing with that application.
Last week, the case had been adjourned to allow the courts to appoint new defence counsel for Raymond.
That new counsel is Moncton-based lawyer Alison Menard.
Raymond is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Fredericton police constables Sara Burns and Robb Costello, and civilians Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright on Aug. 10 outside an apartment complex on the northside of the city.
Raymond had said he felt he was not being defended by his first lawyer -- Nathan Gorham -- and tried numerous times to fire him.
During a previous court appearance, Raymond suggested Gorham was withholding evidence that would allow him to be "exonerated" immediately because of temporary insanity.
"Mr. Raymond's obviously mistaken belief that Mr. Gorham could present evidence to exonerate him at this stage of proceeding suggests that possibly he is unable to understand the nature of the proceedings," Dickson said last week.
"Mr. Raymond's statements also suggest to me that he is not able to communicate meaningfully with counsel or to understand the role of counsel."
During previous court appearances, Raymond had a long greying beard, but was clean shaven Wednesday.
Unlike previous appearances, he did not try to speak to the judge.
Raymond is alleged to have fired from his apartment window with a long gun, killing the two civilians as they loaded a car for a trip, and the two police officers as they responded to the scene.
Costello, 45, was a 20-year police veteran with four children, while Burns, 43, had been an officer for two years and was married with three children.
Robichaud, 42, had three children and had recently entered into a relationship with 32-year-old Wright when they were killed.