Diagnosis could have impact on dangerous-offender hearing
Penticton court told man convicted of armed robbery, sexual assault has leukemia
A notorious criminal whom the Crown wants to lock up indefinitely has been diagnosed with leukemia, a judge heard Monday.
Ronald Teneycke received news about the cancer only “very recently” and details are still scarce, according to his lawyer.
“He’s just waiting for some testing to determine what the treatment options are going to be and what his prognosis is,” Michael Welsh explained as Teneycke’s dangerous-offender hearing resumed in provincial court in Penticton.
Welsh said the diagnosis may force him to seek an adjournment of the hearing today to await medical records that could have a bearing on Teneycke’s eventual sentence.
Despite the diagnosis, Teneycke on Monday appeared healthier than he has in the past. He looked to have gained weight, grown a moustache and chopped off the long ponytail that he wore for many years.
“I’m doing OK, thanks,” he said when asked about his condition by a reporter outside the courthouse.
The dangerous-offender hearing began in May and adjourned following three days of testimony from psychologists and correctional workers. It had been scheduled to wrap up today.
Teneycke is being sentenced for four offences to which he previously pleaded guilty: robbery, committing robbery with a firearm, discharging a firearm with intent to wound, and flight from police.
The charges relate to a July 2015 crime spree that began when Teneycke robbed a convenience store in Oliver at gunpoint, and then shot a man whose truck he’d stolen on a forestry road outside the community.
It concluded with a police chase that ended with his arrest in a Cawston orchard.
Welsh said previously he won’t argue against his client being declared a dangerous offender, but will challenge the Crown’s call for an indefinite jail term.
A dangerous-offender designation carries with it three possible penalties: an indeterminate sentence with no chance of parole for at least seven years; a regular jail sentence followed by a maximum 10-year supervision order; or a regular jail sentence.
To secure an indeterminate sentence, the Crown has to prove it’s the only way to “adequately protect the public against the commission by the offender of murder or a serious personal injury offence,” according to the Criminal Code.
Teneycke’s criminal record dates back to 1981, but he gained notoriety in 2007 when police in the South Okanagan warned the public about his release from prison after completing a 12-year sentence for sexual assaulting a teenager and threatening to kill a correctional officer. He has been in and out of jail ever since.
He’s just waiting for some testing to determine what the treatment options are going to be and what his prognosis is.
Michael Welsh