BC’s Ministry of the Attorney General is accusing a man of interfering with operations at three courthouses.
A notice of civil claim filed Feb. 11 in Prince George asks a BC Supreme Court judge for an order to limit how Devan Lester corresponds with staff in Prince George, Mackenzie and Smithers.
“The volume of the e-mails and the large recipient list make Mr. Lester’s e-mails a large drain on several registries’ resources,” said the application. “Further, several staff members now feel threatened by the correspondence.”
The filing, which has not been tested in court, said Lester has been a party in family law disputes, ordered not to contact his children and subject to two firearms prohibition orders. Lester also filed two actions against the Ministry of Children and Family Development, both dismissed in 2024. He then filed against a Mackenzie registry employee and the judiciary and made “various non-specific legal threats.”
A lawyer for the attorney general proposed in writing last May a communication and filing arrangement for Lester that would have meant he could not attend Mackenzie, except for court appearances.
Lester allegedly agreed to go through the Prince George courthouse, but resumed activity last Dec. 9 and sent over 300 aggressive emails and various non-specific legal threats to staff at the three registries.
The proposed order would stop Lester from sending any type of correspondence, except for a document under the rules of the court or specific direction of the court that is filed through Court Services Online or an agent.
“Mr. Lester’s e-mails are addressed generally to registry staff and occasionally also addressed to accounts linked to the Supreme Court of Canada, Ministry of Attorney General of British Columbia, International Criminal Court and individuals,” said the filing by Michael Kleisinger.
“Mr. Lester makes serious allegations and, increasingly, makes veiled threats against the recipients.”
