A notorious Kelowna, B.C., killer is back in police custody after being caught in a stolen vehicle, police say.
Tyler Jack Newton, 32, and an unnamed woman were caught in a GMC Sierra that was suspected to be stolen at a residence in the 1000 block of El Paso Road on Thursday, RCMP said in a Friday press release.
The duo were under surveillance when they drove the stolen vehicle to a business and were arrested without incident.
READ MORE: B.C. man who killed stranger on bus finishes prison sentence, arrested again
Police recommended several charges, including possession of stolen property over $5,000, failure to comply with probation orders and operating a conveyance while prohibited.
“These individuals have a long history of criminal activity in our community,” Const. Mike Della-Paolera with the Kelowna RCMP said.
Newton’s criminal proclivities and dealings with police rarely are far from the public eye.
Before this case, his most recent foray into the spotlight involved a December 2021 incident that involved allegations of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and use of an imitation firearm in relation to an incident in West Kelowna.
Those charges were ultimately dropped but not before earning Newton some notoriety when he was to be discussed in the legislature as an example of the problems of a “soft-on-crime” province.
Newton has a long history of violent crimes under his belt, the most notable being the 2014 fatal stabbing of bus passenger Caesar Rosales.
In 2014, Rosales was on his way home when Newton, in a drug-fuelled state of psychosis, slashed his throat and ran off the bus. Rosales, who never met Newton, was left to bleed out on the floor, while shocked passengers looked on or tried, in futility to help.
He was released from prison in 2020 and racked up new charges in the year that followed. They add to the 50 plus charges he faced before killing Rosales.
Newton’s pattern of being in and out of jail both before and after that killing was recently used as a rallying point for BC Liberals who are concerned about “catch and release” issues within the courts.
READ MORE: Kelowna’s bus killer apprehended after tips pour in
“He is described in parole documents as someone with “consistent disregard for the law, pro-criminal attitudes and values and a high-risk and high-needs offender who has not mitigated that risk,” Karin Kirkpatrick, BC Liberal MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano said.
“(He’s) a prolific offender who has a history of blatantly violating release conditions, yet he faces no consequences. He has been released again because of the incoming soft-on-crime premier’s catch-and-release program.”
His next court date is Aug. 11.
— with files from Simon Little
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