B.C. man who killed stranger on bus finishes prison sentence, arrested again

Within months of finishing a prison sentence for the fatal and unprovoked 2014 stabbing of a Kelowna man commuting home on a city bus, Tyler Jack Newton has again been accused of breaking the law.

According to court documents, on July 21 Newton allegedly was driving dangerously in West Kelowna and attempted to evade RCMP when they were in pursuit.

He’s not in custody but scheduled to stand trial on two charges relating to that incident on March 10, 2022.

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Six months earlier Newton completed four years and six months of prison time for the manslaughter death of Caesar Rosales, and parole documents indicate he had been far from an ideal prisoner since June 2016, when he started his sentence.

In a parole document dated Oct. 19, 2020, Newton is described as having “anti-authority and pro-criminal attitudes and values” and was deemed a risk of reoffending.

Newton’s criminal history is described on file as “appalling,” the parole board wrote, adding it was “reflective of someone with serious drug convictions.”

His criminal record from before he killed Rosales includes charges like the dangerous operation of a vehicle, breach, and drug convictions, and Kelowna RCMP already considered him a “prolific offender.”

Regardless Newton has completed his sentence and was free to go and his likelihood of reoffending seemed high.

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He’s “violated probation and bail conditions, gone Absent Without Leave and reoffended” when on conditions, the board said.

“You continue to engage in high-risk and risk-relevant behaviour while supervised. You have a significant court history and have demonstrated a consistent disregard for the law. Because of this, you have proven unreliable and unpredictable when in the community,” the parole board told Newton at that time.

“In addition, the Board finds that given the nature and gravity of your index offence, you have also shown a willingness to use weapons. You are assessed as a high risk and high needs offender and have not mitigated that risk despite having had the benefit of programming.”

Rosales was commuting home on Kelowna’s No. 8 bus on Oct. 30, 2014, after finishing his shift at KF Aerospace. Newton, also on the bus, was in a drug-fuelled psychosis, according to parole documents, when he stabbed Rosales in the neck and ran away.