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Cops nab Teneycke after manhunt

The manhunt that had police scouring a South Okanagan community has come to an end.
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RCMP have blocked off a road where it is believed Ronald Teneycke has been arrested.

Early reports from police have confirmed that Ronald Arthur Teneycke has been detained.

At 10:40 a.m. on July 23 police say Teneycke was located and taken into custody.

"It is believed no one was injured in the arrest, but cannot be confirmed at this time," Cpl. Dave Tyreman said in an email.

An orchardist told Black Press he was 20 feet away from the incident when he heard shots fired, but was unsure of who was doing the shooting.

A road outside Keremeos has been shut down by police who have set up a roadblock where a Black Press reporter spotted an ambulance. There are multiple houses nearby, but no evacuation order was issued. Traffic is currently not getting through.

Police say they will release more details as they become available.

RCMP issued a warning Wednesday that Teneycke was considered armed and extremely dangerous and was in the Oliver area. The South East District Emergency Response team, as well as police from multiple detachments, including Penticton, were seen in Oliver where police had located a vehicle they believed Teneycke to be driving.

Around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday Oliver RCMP learned that an individual picked up what they thought was a hitchhiker on Baldy Mountain Forest Service Road. Police said the individual allegedly assaulted the driver with a weapon and stole the owner's 1999 white three-quarter ton GMC pick-up with the licence plate 7621 GG with "Okanagan Rustic Furniture" written across the back window.

Police included that incident in a press release describing Teneycke as armed and extremely dangerous, though it is unconfirmed at this point if Teneycke was involved.

On July 16, South Okanagan (Oliver) RCMP attended to a complaint of an armed robbery in the 6400 block of Park Drive.

Officers attended and spoke to the business owner who advised that just shortly after 10 a.m. that day an unknown man entered the store and produced a weapon. Extensive patrols were made for the suspect vehicle by Oliver, Osoyoos and South Okanagan Traffic Services officers and with the assistance of a RCMP helicopter.

From the description provided, police said they believe it to be similar to that of a Teneycke.

Earlier in July a warrant was put out for Teneycke's arrest after he failed to show up for his intermittent (weekends only) jail sentence. Teneycke pleaded guilty to his most recent charges of making or possessing explosives and possessing a weapon contrary to a court order. The 52-year-old was sentenced on April 9 to time served since his Jan. 22 arrest, as well as an additional 90 days, a lifetime firearm ban and three years probation.

After his sentence was suspended in April due to health related issues, Teneycke pleaded with the court to extend the start date of his sentence to no avail.

Teneycke spent 12 years in federal prison, most of those related to being found guilty of a sexual assault with a weapon on a 17-year-old female. Since his release in 2007, Teneycke has returned to jail several times for breaches of probation and in 2013 was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine.

With files from Tara Bowie, Black Press