The question needs to be asked why Ronald Arthur Teneycke was allowed on the street in the first place.
Ronald Teneycke’s story is a sad one. Sad for him, and far more sad for those that crossed his path.
Over the years, Teneycke, an untreated sex offender, has bounced in and out of jail, serving time for a variety of crimes. Most recently, he pleaded guilty to making or possessing explosives and possessing a weapon contrary to a court order and was sentenced to 90 days in jail intermittently on weekends, which he defaulted on earlier this month.
This led to the RCMP manhunt for the prolific offender, who was considered armed and dangerous.
This isn’t argument about getting tough on crime, or needing longer sentences. What we have here is an individual that the judicial system failed.
Teneycke’s record makes it clear he was unable to fit into society. But our system kept putting him back on the street, even as his behaviour got more and more erratic.
Despite designating Teneycke a prolific offender in 2013, little changed. He still continued to make regular appearances in court, breaching his probation conditions or being charged with new crimes.
You can look at it from two directions, either the courts needed to do a better job of protecting society from a dangerous man like Teneycke, or they needed to do a better job of getting him help, whether he wanted it or not.
The situation we face today was inevitable. Sadly, Teneycke is now endangering lives, both of the public and of the RCMP who conducted the search for him.
Now that Teneycke has been captured, we hope the courts see fit to ensure that he never be in a position to threaten this, or any, community ever again.