WATCH: After months of delays, guilty plea in Const. Sarah Beckett death brings relief to Langford and calls for a long sentence. Tess van Straaten reports.
There’s immense relief in the close-knit community of Langford after Kenneth Jacob Fenton, the man who crashed into Constable Sarah Beckett’s RCMP cruiser in April of 2016, pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.
“I’m glad that he is going to get what he deserves,” area resident Shanine Boiley said. “That’s two children who have to grow up without their mama so it’s been tough. You still see flowers out there for her.”
“She was really close to everyone’s heart and it’s really difficult with the little ones around,” Langford grandmother Joyce Campbell. added. “I’m really glad he did plead guilty because it gives closure to a lot of people.”
More than a year after the horrific crash at the intersection of Goldstream Avenue and Peatt Road, the community is only just beginning to heal.
“This doesn’t go by a week without somebody talking about it,” Langford Mayor Stew Young said. “It’s fresh on everybody’s mind and we’re waiting to see what happens here and we’re hoping justice will be served.”
Young says everyone’s now holding their breath, hoping Fenton will get a stiff sentence for a crime that’s ripped this region to its core.
“This is one of the most serious tragedies we’ve had in our community so moving forward, I hope the judge does put down a sentence actually fits the crime. Everyone is hoping he gets a severe sentence for what he has done and the damage he’s done to the family and this community.”
Tess van Straaten
