A Kelowna man with a notorious criminal record that includes a 2014 killing on a city bus has been arrested after a brief disappearance.
On Thursday, RCMP said Tyler Jack Newton, 32, was wanted on a B.C.-wide warrant for aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and using an imitation firearm relating to an incident in West Kelowna in December 2021.
After receiving multiple calls from Kelowna residents, RCMP said officers arrested Newton in Kelowna’s downtown core.
Newton was arrested without incident and is being held in jail for a Court appearance later today.
“This was an excellent example of the Kelowna RCMP Members, local media and the public working together to locate and ultimately arrest this dangerous repeat offender,” Const. Mike Della-Paolera said.
“Thank you to citizens and callers who took the correct action by calling the Kelowna RCMP and not approaching this individual.”
Newton was wanted on a BC-wide warrant for an aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and using an imitation firearm during the commission of an offence stemming from an incident in West Kelowna in December of 2021.
In March, Newton pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and evading police from a July 2021 incident in West Kelowna — as well as charges of possession of stolen property and breaching his release order from an incident in January 2022.
The crime he spent the most time in prison for, however, was the killing of Caesar Rosales.
The victim was commuting home on Kelowna’s No. 8 bus on Oct. 30, 2014, after finishing his shift at KF Aerospace, when Newton, who was in a drug-fuelled psychosis, stabbed him in the neck and ran away. Rosales died on the bus floor.
During the four-plus years Newton was in prison for that crime, numerous parole documents outlined his behaviour as problematic, both behind bars and while granted limited freedoms.
The parole board once wrote that Newton continued to engage “in high-risk and risk-relevant behaviour while supervised. (He has) a significant court history and (has) demonstrated a consistent disregard for the law,” read the document.
Because of this, the parole board said he was “unreliable and unpredictable when in the community.”
He was assessed as a high-risk and high-needs offender.
His criminal record dates back to before he killed Rosales, including dangerous operation of a vehicle, breach of conditions and drug convictions.
Kelowna RCMP considered him a prolific offender.
RCMP haven’t offered any insight into where they think Newton may be.