Eight years after killing a stranger on a bus in Kelowna while under the influence of narcotics, a man from British Columbia is out on bond after being charged with assault in connection with an unrelated incident in West Kelowna last December.
Tyler Jack Newton, 31, was taken into custody by Kelowna RCMP a few hours after he was the target of a B.C.-wide warrant on October 6.
On Friday, Newton, who was wanted on suspicion of aggravated assault, using a toy gun, and assault with a weapon, was freed on $500 bail.
In an interview with Global News on Sunday, Barb Dawson said, “I’m worried about the community as a whole.
He ought to be incarcerated.
On October 30, 2014, Newton stabbed Caesar Rosales, 55, in the neck while in a drug-induced hallucination, and then left the scene as Dawson was taking the bus.
Dawson said she and another man came to Rosales’ aid and tried to prolong his life as he bled heavily from a stab wound that went through to his throat.
Rosales, a business systems analyst for KF Aerospace, perished on the bus floor despite their best efforts.
Dawson, who has experienced PTSD since the incident, said: “I still feel the effects from just trying to help Caesar.”
A day after the senseless attack, Newton was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and in June 2016, was sentenced to seven years in prison.
In the trial, Dawson claimed she’ll never forget seeing into Newton’s eyes.
I would contact them, emptiness, lacking any sort of compassion or empathy,” she recalled.
“Anger was all I could see.”
After credit for time served, Newton spent close to four-and-a-half years in prison.
His past criminal activity in B.C.
contains 24 convictions dating back to 2008, including drug charges, possession of stolen property, break-and-enter, theft, violation of probation, willful resistance to law enforcement, reckless driving, and eluded police.
According to a document from the parole board dated October 19, 2020, Newton is a “high-risk and high-needs offender.”
Dawson told Global News, “I can’t believe that he’s permitted to remain at large.
Cash bail, according to criminal defence attorney Kyla Lee, is often the last resort before custody. In order to have bail denied, the Crown attorney must demonstrate that the accused is likely to commit another crime, fail to appear in court, or leave.
Bail would be granted because there is no indication that the suspect will commit another crime or flee the area, Lee said Global News in an interview on Sunday.
It is unclear in this case whether setting bail for some accusations of serious assault would be normal given the circumstances.
The BC Liberals are urging the Attorney General to instruct the BC Prosecution Service to obtain remand for violent repeat offenders who pose a risk to the public safety, according to Surrey South Liberal MLA Elenore Sturko.
According to Sturko, “We’re looking at a person who has actually killed someone, an innocent person.”
“This is quite alarming.
On November 2, Newton will appear in court again.
Released from detention on unrelated assault charges is a British Columbian who killed a stranger on a bus.
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