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Details are emerging about the criminal past of one of the two suspects charged in the killing of OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala.
Twenty-five-year-old Randall McKenzie had served an almost three-year sentence for robbery and other charges and was currently out on bail with a warrant for his arrest.
Police say McKenzie was under a lifetime firearms ban from a previous robbery conviction and had been charged in 2021 with several more offences.
He failed to attend a court appearance this past September, at which point additional charges were laid against him and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
At a media briefing Wednesday evening, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said he was outraged.
[W:\Markets\St. Thomas\Current Audio\Dec 28 OPP briefing 1 Carrique.mp3]
Both McKenzie and 30-year-old Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry are facing a charge of first-degree murder.
Const. Pierzchala is the sixth Canadian police officer to die since September.
A criminologist at Western University says the recent deaths are concerning and an indication of how dangerous policing has become.
But Michael Arntfield warns the numbers do not represent a trend.
The former officer says police deaths are still rare.
At Wednesday’s briefing, Carrique supplied a few details about what transpired.
[W:\Markets\St. Thomas\Current Audio\Dec 28 OPP briefing 2 Carrique.mp3]
Carrique said police have not determined a motive for the shooting.
The OPP advised the 28-year-old Pierzchala had been with the force for just over a year and had been patrolling independently since April.
OPP investigators will be canvassing the area today to look for witnesses.
