The former head of the Clearwater RCMP is undergoing drug treatment, court in Merritt heard Tuesday as the man’s arraignment hearing was pushed to Sept. 4.
Former Staff Sgt. Stuart Seib was charged in January with stealing and using cocaine from a police evidence locker.
He is also charged with breach of trust, dating back to June 2010.
“My understanding is that Seib is currently attending a treatment centre,” said Crown Council William Burrows.
Defense lawyer Shawn Buckley, acting as agent for Port Coquitlam-based attorney Neville McDougal, said negotiations are underway to resolve the case without a trial.
“Mr. McDougall is waiting for Crown to make a decision on that,” Buckley said.
Progress isn’t expected until the next court appearance, which is scheduled for Sept. 4, after Judge Hermann Rohrmoser granted the third extension in the case.
Seib has officially resigned from the RCMP and won’t face internal discipline.
He took over the Merritt detachment in November 2011 after serving seven years in Clearwater and 18 years with the RCMP.
In a letter to the Clearwater Times, Seib said: “I feel it is important that it be known that on Jan. 6 I found myself in a medical crisis. I phoned the sergeant at the Merritt detachment and reported to him what had happened.”
– Phillip Woolgar - Merritt Herald