Notorious bus killer wastes no time finding trouble

Notorious Kelowna bus killer Tyler Jack Newton, who served 4 1/2 years in federal prison for stabbing a fellow passenger to death, is in trouble with the law again.

Newton is accused of dangerous driving and fleeing from police in West Kelowna. He has had eight appearances connected to the matter, court documents show, and is to be back before a judge on March 10.

Newton, 30, is not in custody after having posted $1,000 bail. In a heinous and unprovoked crime that shocked Kelowna, Newton stabbed Caesar Rosales to death on the No. 8 Kelowna Regional Transit bus as it was being driven along Springfield Road on Oct. 30, 2014. Newton got off the bus and walked away. Rosales, a Filipino-Canadian who worked at KF Aerospace, died of massive blood loss despite the frantic efforts of other passengers to save him.

At trial, a psychiatrist said Newton was in a drug-induced psychosis when he walked up behind Rosales and stabbed him in the neck with a knife.

In June 2016, Newton was sentenced to seven years for manslaughter by judge Heather Holmes. Crown counsel Colin Forsyth had asked for 10 years; defence lawyer Jordan Watt suggested four to six years.

Given credit for time he’d already spent in custody, Newton served 4 1/2 years in federal prison. Newton was granted early parole twice, but promptly violated conditions both times and was returned to prison to serve his full sentence.

“Your community supervision is described as ‘abysmal,’ as you have violated prohibition and bail conditions, gone AWOL, and reoffended,” the Parole Board of Canada wrote in a letter to Newton that ordered cancellation of his early release from prison.

Parole board members described Newton’s criminal history as “appalling” and included property crime, drug use, breach of trust, and obstruction. Kelowna RCMP consider Newton a prolific offender.

While in prison, the parole board said, Newton was connected to the drug subculture, threatened staff, fought another inmate, and carried a weapon. He took little responsibility for his actions, the board said.

Newton’s latest charges of dangerous driving and fleeing from police stem from an incident in West Kelowna on July 21. He was released from custody the next morning.