Relief swept over the South Okanagan recently when fugitive Ronald Teneycke was captured after a harrowing pursuit in Cawston.
No doubt families are feeling safe again knowing that a dangerous offender is off the streets, hopefully for a long time.
First we must commend the RCMP for their superb efforts in tracking down this prolific offender and ending his reign of terror in Oliver and Okanagan Falls.
Even citizens of Osoyoos were not immune to the potential of Teneycke showing up with a gun.
The police are sometimes maligned for their tactics and how they prioritize calls for service.
But until you walk in their shoes, tiptoeing around limited resources and budgets, you’ll never understand what they’re dealing with.
Every cop who searched for Teneycke put his or her life on the line for you. They risked not going home to their families because of their oath to protect the public. Like firefighters, they run towards danger, not away from it. And after a trying day, they still have a sense of humour.
So the next time you see an RCMP officer, stop to say thank you.
We hate to be political at a time like this, but Teneycke’s capture was bittersweet.
He would not have terrorized the community if the justice system had done its job in the first place.
Teneycke has been in and out of jail for years, committing various offences against the public, including spending more than a decade behind bars after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
He has shown little or no interest in rehabilitation and can’t seem to keep out of trouble.
Yet every time a judge has released him to walk among free men, courtesy of a broken system that we now call the “injustice system.”
It is both laughable and shameful and in dire need of an overhaul.
Teneycke was recently sentenced to weekend jail time for making or possessing explosives. Whoever arranged a sentence like that should not be involved in any justice system.
Once again, the system allowed Teneycke to pass through the proverbial revolving door to strike fear in everyone’s hearts.
Thank you very much.
This man could have killed someone during his desperate run from police. Some people are bewildered that his latest set of charges do not include attempted murder. Just ask Oliver victim Wayne Belleville who truly believes that Teneycke tried to kill him the day before his capture.
The judges and lawyers knew for years that Teneycke was a danger to the public, but kept showing him the door and telling him to play nice.
Is no one accountable in our justice system?
We should demand a complete makeover of our criminal laws so that victims are not re-victimized and prolific offenders cannot continue to threaten the innocent.
By God, what will it take to put some sense back into our courtrooms?
The fact Teneycke was crying foul last week over not being able to have quick access to his defence lawyer since being placed in custody is almost laughable.
There’s no doubt our justice system needs fixing and that the rights of victims should be placed far ahead of the rights of the likes of Ronald Teneycke.
