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Chainsaw wielding Penticton man has sentencing delayed a 2nd time

Robert Teal’s sentencing was delayed due to the fatal Peachland crash on July 12
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Summerland RCMP converge on the Trout Creek Go Market on Oct. 21, 2021 after a man with a chainsaw barricaded himself inside. (Monique Tamminga Western News)

A man who went into a Summerland liquor store and gas station wielding a running chainsaw and causing a police standoff has had his sentencing delayed again.

Robert Austin Teal was set to receive his sentence on July 12, but due to a fatal crash in Peachland that closed Highway 97 that morning, the presiding judge in the case couldn’t get through from Kelowna to Penticton.

Other cases that day were also delayed due to the road closure.

READ MORE: One confirmed dead after Highway 97 crash in Peachland

A new date for Teal’s sentencing is currently set for July 29.

This will be the second delay to Teal’s sentencing since pleading guilty earlier in 2022.

Teal had pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief of $5,000 or under and theft of $5,000 or under related to the Trout Creek incident.

On Oct. 22, 2021, RCMP responded to a report that a man, later identified as Teal, had walked into the Trout Creek liquor store and the attached gas station convenience store with a running chainsaw, damaging the insides of both stores.

The staff managed to safely get out of the store without injury while the man barricaded himself inside. It would take an hour with a negotiator before Teal would put down the chainsaw and walk out.

RCMP at the time said that he was known to police and that drugs were suspected to have been a contributing factor in the incident. Teal had previously been sentenced to 28 days in jail and 12 months probation for an assault and uttering threats incident in April 2021.

Teal has his sentencing originally delayed in order to give him time to try and get into Penticton’s Discovery House recovery program.

The judge had allowed the delay while warning the next sentencing date would likely have to go through regardless of whether Teal had made arrangements or not.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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