Fenton: ‘I would trade places with Sarah’

Driver who pleaded guilty in crash that killed Mountie apologizes to her family

Kenneth Jacob Fenton spoke for the first time Friday during his sentencing hearing in the death of West Shore RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett, saying it is unfair that he is alive and she is not.

“I was in the wrong and an innocent person had to pay the price,” he said. “I would trade places with Sarah if I could.

“I want you to know that I have been getting counselling and that I am no longer drinking. I hope to be a better person in the future.”

Fenton has pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death in the April 2016 collision that killed Beckett, who was 32 and the mother of two young boys. She died when Fenton ran a red light at Goldstream Avenue and Peatt Road in the early morning, hitting her police cruiser at an estimated speed of 76 to 90 kilometres an hour.

His blood-alcohol level was measured at 3.5 times the legal limit of .08.

Judge Ronald Lamperson said he plans to deliver a sentence on July 14, with the defence calling for a three-year prison sentence and Crown prosecutors calling for three to five years.

Supporters of both Beckett and Fenton were at the Western Communities courthouse for Friday’s proceedings. Brad Aschenbrenner, Beckett’s husband of 10 years, left the courtroom while Fenton was reading his submission.

Fenton said he is “overwhelmed” at the devastation that he caused for the families connected to the case and for the community.

“I know it has caused unimaginable pain for so many people and I apologize to everyone hurt by this tragedy.”

He said he never wanted to harm anybody or leave children without a mother and a loving husband without his wife.

“That wasn’t my intention, but that is what happened because of my actions.”

Fenton said Beckett dedicated herself to helping others as a police officer.

“This is by far the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life and it resulted in an unfair death of a loved one,” he said. “The accident is on my mind every day, especially when I wake up and when I go to sleep.

“I think about how Sarah’s family must feel and I am heartbroken for the pain that I have caused the family. From the bottom of my heart I am very sorry for this tragedy.”

He finished by saying that he is fully responsible for the death and will accept the punishment he is given.

Defence lawyer Dale Marshall said the Fentons have had to deal with repercussions over the past year, including to their vehicles and property.

“It’s led to a very difficult time for all of them,” Marshall said.

He said Fenton’s mother is reluctant to leave the house.

Fenton’s father gave a written statement to the court that said his son had many good attributes.

“Jake is not a monster,” he wrote.

In a statement read earlier in the week by Aschenbrenner, he said it is extremely hard dealing with his wife’s death.

“It’s true heartache, like my heart is actually breaking.”

He said he lost his sister to a similar crash in 1996, when she was 16.