Both the Correctional Service of Canada and the RCMP are opposing Kenneth Jacob Fenton living on Vancouver Island when he gets out of prison.
The RCMP cited a potential for violence if Fenton returns.
That news came as Fenton was granted day parole for a third time. He was convicted of impaired driving in the death of West Shore RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett, a 32-year-old mother of two boys. Beckett died April 5, 2016 when her marked police car was broadsided at 3:27 a.m. at Goldstream Avenue and Peatt Road by a vehicle Fenton was driving.
Fenton has indicated a desire to move to Vancouver Island at the time of his statutory release in March 2021, but a Parole Board of Canada report said that he will have to live somewhere else.
The board said in its decision that Fenton has said he wants to go to central Vancouver Island to increase his income and build on his relationship with his family and young son.
“You have had some discussions with a member of your family about potentially establishing a business that would service communities on central and northern Vancouver Island,” the board said, adding that Fenton has offered to wear an electronic-monitoring device to increase surveillance to keep him from encountering anyone associated with Beckett.
But both the Correctional Service of Canada and the RCMP oppose Fenton’s proposed destination after he is released. The RCMP said that while he has made some progress while serving his sentence, they recommend “that you be prohibited from returning to Vancouver Island in its totality.”
In an August letter, the RCMP noted the extensive media coverage of the Beckett case “and the potential negative (and violent) consequences that could be generated by your return to Vancouver Island.”
The board said such concerns are supported by the fact that Fenton and his parents dealt with verbal attacks, and that the family home and business were vandalized.
Fenton was sentenced to four years in the Beckett case and 18 months in a second case that saw him driving while apparently intoxicated when a passenger was badly hurt. That incident happened six weeks after Beckett’s death when he was on bail.
The conditions of his day parole include not using alcohol or drugs other than prescribed medication, avoiding family or friends of Beckett, not owning or operating a motor vehicle and not travelling to Vancouver Island without his parole supervisor’s written permission.
Fenton is currently staying in a community-residential facility in an undisclosed location.
The board said that at the time of Fenton’s release, he will have established a history of full-time employment, built a network of friends, engaged in a relationship and gained knowledge of resources that can help him.
jwbell@timescolonist.com
