The Correctional Service of Canada is refusing to say how a notorious South Okanagan criminal was allowed to send his shooting victim a Christmas card from prison despite a no-contact order.
Last March, a judge declared Ronald Teneycke a dangerous offender and sentenced him to an indeterminate prison sentence.
The designation is reserved for “the most dangerous and sexual predators in the country,” according to Public Safety Canada on its website. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said there were 747 offenders with a dangerous offender designation as of 2016-17, the most recent data available.
Teneycke had a 35-year record of committing violent offenses. In July 2015, he shot Oliver man Wayne Belleville in the back.
Belleville was a Good Samaritan who offered the stranger a ride as Teneycke hitchhiked on an isolated road near Oliver, B.C.
“His 15 minutes of fame are over and I look forward to never hearing his name again,” Belleville told Global Okanagan at the outcome of the dangerous offending hearing.
WATCH BELOW: Shooting victim Wayne Belleville talks to Global News about the letter he received.
But the B.C. Prosecution Service said Teneycke is alleged to have violated a no-contact order with his victim.
“The communications are alleged to have occurred sometime between December 14, 2018 to December 18, 2018,” said communications counsel Dan McLaughlin.
Belleville said he received a Christmas card and letter from Teneycke, who is serving time in a federal prison in Agassiz.
He said the offender expressed disappointment in himself for the shooting, but went on the blame Belleville.
“Very quickly goes on that it was my fault and my actions that made him do that,” he said.
In response to an inquiry by Global Okanagan, the CSC said it cannot comment on a specific case.
“CSC has the authority to intercept inmate communications when it believes on reasonable grounds that the safety of the public or of the institution will be jeopardized,” said the emailed statement.
When pressed for an explanation, it said “whether a no contact order was violated is a question of law to be determined following a law enforcement investigation, laying of criminal charges, and subsequent judicial proceedings.”
Belleville said he contacted the prison demanding answers.
“The gentleman apologized profusely and offered no real explanation and assured me that although it happened once it wouldn’t happen again. I don’t have a lot of confidence in that,” he said.
Teneycke will appear in Penticton provincial court on Friday to face the charge of failing to comply with a no-communication order.