Kelowna, B.C.  – The fate of a former RCMP sergeant who pleaded guilty to breach of trust after accusations that he stole cocaine from evidence lockers at two separate detachments will soon be sentenced.

Stuart Seib, 54, (in photo at right, with his wife, leaving the Kelowna Courthouse  Monday May 27th – Photo Castanet Staff) was a commanding officer at the Merritt detachment in January 2012 when he was arrested for allegedly stealing cocaine and crack cocaine on more than one occasion in order to feed his own personal habit.

After listening to almost three hours of sentencing submissions on Monday morning, Justice Jane Cartwright reserved her decision until a later date.

Crown prosecutor Sheryl Wagner told the court that Seib admitted to the thefts in a text message sent to a colleague. He blamed his drug habit on bouts of depression that he had been dealing with since responding to a ‘horrific’ traffic accident in 2002.

The court heard that Seib’s drug addiction began in 2010, while he was still part of the Clearwater RCMP detachment. It started when he found a bag of cocaine left behind by a group of kids. Seib ended up taking it home to test the drug and then proceeded to use the cocaine in order to self medicate his depression.

Once that cocaine was gone, he began stealing drugs slated for destruction at the Clearwater detachment and would stay up to the early morning hours before returning to the office with minimal rest between his binges.

Upon his transfer to the Merritt detachment, the thefts continued until his paranoia eventually got the best of him. He believed there were open ‘bait’ bags of drugs in the evidence locker and rumours circulating the office that drugs were going missing.

He was finally arrested in January 2012 and suspended from the force, when speaking with an officer outside his home and a clear plastic baggy fell to the ground containing white powder. Another baggy marked ‘evidence’ was found in his possession as well.

The crown is not seeking a jail sentence, instead suggesting a two year conditional discharge along with an order that Seib take part in some sort of lecturing or mentoring work, where he can tell people his story of substance abuse and how it affected his career.

Seib’s defence lawyer, Neville Mcdougall is seeking an absolute discharge, pointing out his client was prepared to deal with the consequences as soon as the situation came to light and has been attending counseling sessions since the incident unraveled. He also alluded to Seib’s unblemished record prior to this incident, and his 38 letters of reference from members of his church and local elected leaders.

However McDougall does not believe community work should be part of the sentence, saying Seib has “effectively withdrawn from the community,” and “this may not be in his best interests for rehabilitation.”

When asked to address the court Seib said, “words cannot describe how I feel about what I’ve done” and expressed how sorry he is for his actions. He told the court that he hurt his family, provided a horrible example for younger RCMP officers and is taking full responsibility for his actions.

The father of four joined the RCMP in 1993 after stints as an auxiliary officer in Quesnel and Naniamo.

Editors note