A man charged in the shooting death of a Southwestern Ontario OPP officer was released on bail six months ago while facing charges including assaulting a police officer and possessing a handgun, court records show.
Randall McKenzie, 25, of Kingston, and Brandi Crystal Lyn Stewart-Sperry, 30, of Hamilton, were charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala.
Pierzchala, 28, was fatally shot while responding to vehicle in the ditch west of Hagersville around 2:30 pm Tuesday. Police arrested suspects two hours later.
McKenzie and Stewart-Sperry appeared briefly Wednesday afternoon at the Cayuga courthouse, where they were remanded into custody until their next appearance on Jan. 17. A judge ordered the pair not to communicate with a list of potential witnesses and family members of the slain officer.
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Court records show McKenzie was released on bail on June 27 after spending nearly six months in custody after Hamilton police arrested him a year ago.
McKenzie, of no fixed address at the time, was arrested on Dec. 1, 2021, and charged with a dozen offenses including assault with a weapon, assaulting a peace officer, assault, possession of a firearm without a licence, carrying a concealed weapon , mischief and possession of counterfeit money.
The gun involved was a handgun with its serial number removed and McKenzie was under a pair of weapons bans imposed by judges in 2016 and 2018, the documents say.
The death of Pierzchala, the fifth Ontario police officer killed on-duty since September, drew condolences from police forces and politicians and outrage from some police officers.
“Reverse the roles and imagine the audience outcry. Keep violent criminals in jail. Hold the courts responsible,” London police Det. Gary Bezaire said on Twitter.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said Pierzchala joined the OPP little more than a year ago, achieving his childhood dream of becoming a police officer, and passed his probation period on the day he died.
Prior to becoming a police officer, the Barrie native studied health and society at York University, where he was a member of the varsity wrestling team, and worked as a special constable at Queen’s Park.
– with files from Brantford Expositor reporter Michelle Ruby
